The Last Thing She Said
by GoofyGal2008
Summary: When an unexpected tragedy strikes, Meredith and Lexie Grey will be forced to come together in a way neither could have imagined or wanted. As they cope with new responsibilities, how will their relationship be affected? *On Hiatus - see note in profile*
1. One Call Changes Everything

**A/N:** So, here is my latest Grey's fic...finally! I hope that you all will enjoy it! The focus of this story is going to be on Meredith & Lexie's relationship, so there probably won't be any major romantic pairings, although I am toying with the idea of some Mer/Der, depending on how well Shonda fixes their relationship in the rest of season 4. In terms of the timeline of the story, this takes place in the second half of season four. Right now, everything up through 4.12 is considered to have already happened. I may or may not tie in events from the rest of this season's episodes, depending on how they work with my plot.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think so far!

* * *

"I'm being blind, aren't I? I always said that I wouldn't be one of those girls who spent her time pining for a guy who was only going to end up hurting her. Is that what this is? Alex is always going to hurt me, isn't he?" Lexie asked as she looked over at Meredith, knowing that she probably wasn't going to like her sister's answer.

Meredith sighed, and briefly turned her attention from the road to her sister, noting a familiar hurt in her eyes. "Is this the exit, Lexie?" she asked, momentarily diverting her sister's attention.

"Yeah, that's it."

Meredith signaled her lane change and slowed her speed as she cautiously exited the busy highway. Settling back into the drive, she gave some thought to how to address Lexie's problems with Alex.

"Look, Lexie, Alex is a good guy," Meredith said. "He puts up this tough guy exterior and he can be a real ass sometimes, but deep down, he's really a good guy. The problem is, he does stupid things, and people always end up getting hurt. I'm not sure what it is – it isn't that he doesn't care, or that he wants to hurt you, but I think he just gets scared and messes up. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to change any time soon."

"I guess I know that. I keep telling myself it's over, but somehow, I keep winding up back in his bed. Pathetic, right?" Lexie laughed dryly.

"Must be more like genetic…even after Derek and I broke up, I couldn't keep myself away, you know that. And we all know that situation ended badly," Meredith cringed slightly as the memory of her last fight with Derek slowly crept into her mind. She quickly turned her attention to the winding suburban streets she was navigating and pushed unpleasant thoughts of her ex-boyfriend out of her mind.

* * *

"It's the last one on the right," Lexie said, pointing to a small but well maintained one story home near the end of a cul-de-sac.

"Cute. A little too 1950s for my taste, but cute," Meredith commented.

"Well, we can't all be housing half the hospital, now can we?" Lexie teased, happy that she and her sister had finally reached a point in their relationship where they could share this sort of banter.

"Remind me again why I came with you?" Meredith asked, pretending to be insulted.

"Because you care too much about me to subject me to four hours of suburban happiness on my own. Besides that, I think there was something about your therapist saying family bonding will be good for you."

"Fine," Meredith grumbled as she parked her car. "At least I'll have something to talk about in my session next week."

Lexie laughed at Meredith's reluctance.

"Hey, we aren't that bad. At least Dad won't be here…that you'd really have something to talk about," Lexie said.

"I guess it could be worse," Meredith agreed. "But seriously? Who throws a six month birthday party anyway?"

Lexie shrugged. "Molly does. Come on, we're already late, let's go. Don't forget to grab the present from the back!"

And with that, Meredith reluctantly followed Lexie up to the house, wondering just how she was going to make it through an afternoon of family togetherness.

* * *

Four hours later, Lexie and Meredith silently climbed into Meredith's Jeep. When they finally glanced at each other, there was no holding themselves back as they both burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh. My. God," Meredith gasped. "You did not tell me that our sister is a freaking Stepford wife!"

"Well, I haven't seen her much since I moved back. How was I supposed to know that having a baby would make her go all psycho Martha Stewart?" Lexie laughed, trying to hold back the joy she felt at hearing Meredith refer to Molly as 'our sister' instead of her usual 'your sister'.

When they finally managed to get themselves back under control, Meredith started the car and they began the ride home.

"You know, at least we got some really good cupcakes out of it," Lexie commented.

Meredith laughed again. "Yeah, don't tell Izzie, but I think those might just be better than hers." After a brief and awkward pause, Meredith quietly added, "Plus, I kind of had fun."

"You did?" Lexie asked, slightly surprised.

"I did. Molly's really nice. Don't hold me to it, but I might even consider doing the whole happy family togetherness thing again sometime."

"Seriously?" Lexie asked. She was glad Meredith was driving, because right now she was in enough shock that she'd have probably driven off the road by that point.

"My therapist would be so proud. Maybe I'm not as dark and twisty as everyone thinks I am," Meredith commented, earning another laugh from Lexie.

* * *

"Hey Mer, you up for drinks at Joe's tonight?" Izzie Stevens asked as she changed out of her scrubs after another long shift a few weeks later.

"Sure, why not?" Meredith replied as she entered the locker room. "Just give me a few minutes to change. Cristina, you coming?"

"Is dark and twisty Meredith still downing tequila?" Cristina asked.

"Nope, I think tonight I'll just go with a few beers. Give the hard stuff a rest," Meredith replied.

"Okay, I'm in. As long as I don't have to carry you home again, I'm good," Cristina answered.

"Very funny," Meredith laughed.

"Dr. Grey?" Olivia said, tentatively sticking her head into the residents' locker room and ignoring the sharp glare she received from Cristina, which she knew was her way of asking the nurse just what she thought she was doing daring to enter the residents' space. "There's a phone call for you from Mercy West."

"Dr. Bailey's on call tonight, Olivia, and I think Dr. O'Malley as well. Have one of them handle Mercy West," Meredith told her.

"I'm sorry…they asked for you specifically, Dr. Grey," Olivia said.

Meredith sighed. "Alright, I'll be there in just a minute. Izzie, Cristina, you guys go on ahead and I'll meet you in a few minutes, okay?"

* * *

"Hello?" Meredith snapped into the phone, annoyed that Mercy West was probably about to ruin her first night off in weeks.

"Dr. Grey?" a timid female voice said on the other end.

"Yes, who is this?"

"My name is Sarah Hawthorne, I'm an ER nurse here at Mercy West."

"What can I do for you Ms. Hawthorne?" Meredith asked wearily. "I'm not on call tonight, but I can get the on call resident for you if you have a surgical transport for us."

"Um…actually, Dr. Grey, I'm afraid I'm calling with some news about your sister, Molly Thompson."

Meredith took a sharp breath, grabbing the counter at the nurses' station for support.

"Hold on one moment," she said into the phone. Covering the mouthpiece with her hand, she shouted across the hall to Olivia, "Olivia, find Lexie, get her here now!"

Olivia looked up, wondering when exactly she became a personal intern pager, but the frantic look on Meredith's face as she listened to whatever the woman on the other end was telling her silenced her objections, and Olivia headed off to find the other Dr. Grey.


	2. Taking Control

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! This second chapter sets up what happened to Molly, and paves the way for the next chapter. I think most of what happens within is pretty self-explanatory.

For those who don't remember, Marshall, who comes up in this chapter, is the Mercy West intern from the season 2 episode 'Damage Case,' the one who fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed into that loud southern family. I just needed Meredith to know someone at Mercy West, and he was all I could think of.

Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter!

* * *

"Hey George, I heard you scrubbed in on Hahn's 'Humpty Dumpty' surgery today. How was it? Completely awesome?" Lexie asked eagerly as she changed out of her scrubs in the interns' locker room.

"Unbelievable. Seriously, unbelievable. Dr. Burke did one last year, but Cristina got to scrub in. I'm pretty sure the only reason I got in on this one is because Meredith has that sparkle pager…I seriously love that thing right about now. And you should have seen the look on Cristina's face when Meredith and I were scrubbing in. I thought she was going to rip us to shreds," George laughed.

"But seriously, dying for a 'Humpty Dumpty'? Not sure I can think of a better surgery to get killed for," Lexie smiled. "Are you coming to Joe's tonight?"

"Can't. I'm on call, again," George sighed.

"That's three Fridays in a row, George," Lexie laughed. "Who'd you piss off to earn that?"

"No idea, but if I get another Friday when next month's schedule comes out, I'm complaining to Bailey," George said.

As they continued to chat, Olivia knocked timidly on the door and stepped inside the locker room, relieved to find only George and Lexie remaining. She really didn't want to deal with the cocky interns who hadn't yet learned not to mess with the nurses yelling at her for coming into their locker room.

"Um…Dr. Grey?" she said, announcing her presence.

"Olivia? Is something wrong?" Lexie asked, concerned by the look on Olivia's face.

"I'm not really sure…the other Dr. Grey sent me to get you. She's at the nurses' station right now. It seemed sort of important."

Lexie sighed. "Okay, I'm coming. See you later, George. I'll keep my fingers crossed you get a good surgery to make it worth your while tonight!"

* * *

As Lexie approached the nurses' station, her heart began to race at the scene before her. Meredith was slumped over, her full weight resting on her elbows on the counter. Her whole body was shaking as she hung up the phone in front of her, and although she didn't know why, Lexie could swear she saw Meredith wipe away a tear from her eye.

"Meredith?" Lexie called out, quickening her pace to get to her sister's side. "Meredith, what's wrong?

"I think you should be sitting for this, Lexie," Meredith explained quickly as she took her by the arm and led her into a nearby on-call room, sitting her down at the edge of the bed.

"Um…Mer, you're scaring me," Lexie said. "What's going on?"

Meredith took a deep breath before steadying her voice to speak.

"I just got off the phone with a nurse at Mercy West. She was actually calling for you, but she just asked for Dr. Grey, so Olivia got me…she was calling because, well, see," Meredith stammered, trying to keep a steady voice. Taking another deep breath, Meredith silently willed herself through the rest of her explanation. "Molly and Eric were in an accident, Lexie."

"An accident? What sort of accident?" Lexie asked, panic taking over and a look of fear evident in her eyes.

"A head on collision on the freeway. The other driver crossed the center line; they think he probably had a heart attack or a seizure or something to cause him to lose control."

"How…how bad is it, Meredith?" Lexie asked in a weak voice, afraid to hear Meredith's answer but more frightened by the silence that followed her question.

After a significant pause, Meredith knelt in front of Lexie, taking her sister's hands in her own. Looking up into her eyes, Meredith saw the tears already beginning to form.

"Laura was in the backseat, and the nurse said she was fine, other than a few cuts and bruises. But, Molly and Eric…it's bad. She couldn't tell me much about Molly's condition, but Eric…" Meredith swallowed hard before continuing. "Eric didn't make it, Lex."

Lexie let out a strangled sob as she collapsed forward against Meredith's shoulder. "No…no…" she repeated through her sobs. "No…no…"

After letting her cry for a few minutes, Meredith took hold of Lexie's shoulders and pushed her back, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Lexie, we have to go to Mercy West, okay? Molly and Laura need us, so you need to pull it together for them. We can cry later, but right now, Molly needs us to be strong for her. Got it?"

Lexie nodded, silently wiping the tears from her face and getting up to follow Meredith to the parking lot.

* * *

The forty-five minute drive to Mercy West passed mostly in silence, with Meredith focusing all of her energy fighting Friday evening traffic and Lexie staring absently out the window at the Seattle rain as it hit the pavement.

When they finally arrived and found a parking place, they ran together through the ER doors, nearly running over three nurses and an attending on their way to the admit desk.

"Excuse me," Meredith panted, out of breath by the time they finally reached their destination. "I got a call that my sister was brought in. Her name is Molly Thompson."

"Of course, Ms…?" the nurse stated, fishing for Meredith's last name.

"Grey. Dr. Grey. Meredith Grey. This is my other sister, Lexie. Also Dr. Grey," Meredith replied, starting to ramble just a bit.

"Okay, Drs. Grey, if you could both take a seat right over there, someone will be with you shortly to let you know how your sister is doing."

"No, that's not good enough," Lexie cried out. "I need to know now, you have to tell me. Where's my sister? Where is she?"

As Meredith practically dragged Lexie over to the waiting area, she noticed a familiar young man walk out of a nearby trauma room. It didn't take Meredith long to place the young Asian doctor with the scruffy hair.

"Marshall?" she called out, hoping to catch his attention and praying that he remembered her.

Looking up to see who was calling him, Marshall Stone smiled when he caught sight of Meredith. He'd certainly never forget the face of the intern who'd helped him through those awful first few hours after he had fallen asleep behind the wheel, inadvertently devastating an entire family.

"Meredith!" he shouted, quickly walking over to where she and Lexie were standing. "It's so good to see you! What are you doing here?"

"My sister was in a car crash. We can't seem to get anyone to tell us what's going on," Meredith replied, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"Well, my patient just went up to CT, so I've got a few minutes…what's your sister's name? I'll see what I can find out," Marshall offered.

"Could you? Her name is Molly. Molly Thompson."

Meredith instantly noticed the way Marshall's face sank when he heard her sister's name, and the anxiety she was feeling only increased when his expression morphed into one of worry and pity.

"Is she your patient, Marshall?" Meredith asked.

"Yeah, she is," Marshall replied softly. "Look, this breaks pretty much every rule there is, but why don't you come up to CT with me and take a look at her scans? Just be prepared, I'm not expecting it to look good."

Meredith nodded numbly, taking Lexie by the arm and following Marshall towards the elevator.

* * *

"There," Meredith said, pointing to a spot on the scan coming up on the computer screen. "That's an acute subdural hematoma, right on the frontal lobe. Who's your neurosurgeon on call?"

"Watkins, but he's already in surgery," Marshall replied. "I need to call my resident."

"Wait…aren't you a resident?" Meredith asked. The last time she'd seen Marshall, they had both been interns, so he should have moved up at the same pace she did.

"I…well, I failed my intern exams. Just couldn't get my head back into things after the crash," Marshall admitted.

"Hey, it happens," Meredith assured him. "How long will Dr. Watkins be in surgery?"

"He just started," a nurse informed them. "Probably six or seven more hours at least."

"Do you have anyone else?" Meredith asked, knowing Molly couldn't wait that long.

"No," Marshall sighed, earning a skeptical look from Meredith. "I mean, we have three neurosurgeons on staff, but one is on maternity leave, one has the flu and then Watkins is in surgery."

"Okay," Meredith answered, already formulating a plan in her head. Turning to the nurse, she squinted to see her name tag. "Jenny, I need you to arrange an ambulance transport to Seattle Grace. Get it together as quickly as you can, alright? I'll take care of informing Grace."

Jenny nodded and rushed out of the room to call for an ambulance. Turning to Marshall, Meredith continued. "Marshall, I need you to prep Molly for transport immediately. Let me know if she regains consciousness."

Turning to the remaining nurse in the room, Meredith sighed as another thought occurred to her. "I'm sorry…uh, Melissa…there was a baby in the car with my sister. Do you know where she is? What her condition is?"

"I can find out for you, Dr. Grey," Melissa replied, obviously impressed by how quickly Meredith had taken charge and handled the situation.

"If you could, I'd really appreciate it," Meredith smiled weakly at her.

* * *

Stepping out of the room, Meredith quickly dialed a familiar number on her cell phone.

"Seattle Grace Hospital, surgical wing," Olivia's voice rang out over the phone line.

"Olivia, it's Meredith Grey," Meredith said, taking a seat next to Lexie outside the CT room. Lexie shot Meredith a confused look, having opted not to enter the CT room, knowing she probably wouldn't have been able to handle seeing Molly that way.

"Dr. Grey? What can I do for you?" Olivia asked.

"Olivia, I need you to page Dr. Shepherd, inform him that an emergency transfer is coming in from Mercy West. Acute subdural hematoma in the frontal lobe; the patient is going to need an emergency craniotomy," Meredith said, trying to remain calm and not let her voice convey any of the myriad of emotions coursing through her body at that moment.

"Dr. Shepherd isn't on call tonight…I can page someone else for you if you need me to, Dr. Grey," Olivia replied.

"No, Olivia, I need you to page Derek…look, the patient, it's my sister, Molly," Meredith admitted, noting Olivia's shocked gasp on the other end of the line. "Don't tell him that, though. He doesn't need to know who she is, I don't want him to be distracted…just tell him that it's a VIP patient. Tell him the chief ordered you to call him."

"You want me to lie to Dr. Shepherd?" Olivia asked, stunned by Meredith's audacity.

"It won't be a lie after I call the chief. He'll understand, you won't get into any trouble. Please, Olivia, the ambulance should be here soon to pick her up, which means we'll probably be there in about half an hour," Meredith practically begged.

"Okay, I'll do it," Olivia acquiesced. "And Meredith? I hope your sister's going to be alright."

"Thanks, Olivia. I'll see you soon."

* * *

"Seattle Grace, this is Richard Webber," the chief answered his phone. Meredith wasn't surprised to find him in his office late at night. Since Adele had left him and Derek had moved on with Rose, leaving the chief without his constant presence at their trailers, the only thing he found to distract him was work.

"Chief, it's Meredith Grey."

"Meredith? Is something wrong?" Richard asked, noting the hesitancy in her voice.

"There's a patient coming in from Mercy West…a neuro case. I just wanted you to know, in case it comes up, because I sort of told Olivia to tell Derek that you ordered him to take the case even though he's not on call tonight."

"And just why would you do that, Meredith?" Richard asked.

"Because it's Molly," Meredith sighed, not knowing if the name would mean anything to him.

"Who?"

"The patient is Molly…Thatcher's daughter...my sister," Meredith said.

"Oh…Meredith, I'm so sorry," Richard said.

"I don't want Derek to know who she is," Meredith said, her voice starting to shake slightly. "I don't think he'll remember her, he never really met her, and I'm not sure he ever heard her full name. So if he asks, can you just say that she's a friend of yours or something? I don't want Olivia to get in any trouble."

"Of course, of course," Richard assured her. "Do you need anything else, Meredith?"

"No, not right now…Lexie and I will be coming right behind the ambulance, so we can talk then."

* * *

"Dr. Grey?" Melissa asked, cautiously approaching the two women sitting together outside the radiology department.

"Melissa? Did you find Laura?" Meredith asked hopefully.

"Yes, I did. She's down in pediatrics, but everything is just fine. They're actually only holding her because they need a family member to release her to," Melissa said, looking at Meredith and Lexie expectantly.

"Oh…um…Lexie, does Eric have any family in the area?" Meredith asked. She hadn't even stopped to consider who would be caring for Laura now that Eric was dead and Molly was unable to do so, at least for the time being.

"No…he's an only child. His parents died when he and Molly were in high school," Lexie said. "Oh God, Meredith, we're all she has…we're all Laura has."

Meredith nodded and turned back to Melissa. "I guess...well, I guess we'll take her for now, until Molly is released. Can you get the forms that I need to sign?"

"Of course, Dr. Grey. I'll be back in a few minutes," Melissa said, turning and hurrying off to find the necessary paperwork.

Meredith sighed as she thought of everything they would need to do now. Turning back to Lexie, she sat down and looked at her sister. "Lexie, do you think you can drive safely?"

Lexie looked over at Meredith, not sure why she was asking that question. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Good," Meredith said, placing her car keys in Lexie's hand. "I need you to go to Molly's house. Get some clothes for Laura, bottles, formula, diapers, all that stuff. Can you handle that?"

Lexie just nodded silently.

"Good. Just get enough to get us through a day or two, we'll pick up the rest later. Then come straight to Seattle Grace, okay? I'll pick up Laura and we'll get a cab to follow Molly's ambulance."


	3. Not What You Think

**A/N:** Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed or signed up for alerts - I'm so glad you are all enjoying the Meredith/Lexie dynamic. This chapter is packed full of important scenes, so I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

"Olivia!" Derek Shepherd called out as he approached the nurses' station, still in his suit, having obviously been out on a date when he'd been called back to the hospital. "This had better be good. I'm supposed to have the night off!"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Shepherd," Olivia replied, trying to calm the angry neurosurgeon. "We've got a VIP transport coming in from Mercy West. The chief asked for you specifically. Here's the patient's chart," Olivia said, handing him the chart and scans Meredith had sent over.

Looking the scans over, Derek sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Damn. Well, tell the chief I'll do the best I can, but this one's going to be tricky. There appears to be massive intracranial pressure, and the location of that hematoma couldn't be worse if it tried. Is the OR prepped and the surgical team ready?"

"Yes, doctor," Olivia answered, saddened to hear that Meredith's sister was in worse shape than she had imagined.

"Okay then. Page the resident and intern on call. Who is that tonight?"

"Dr. Bailey and Dr. O'Malley, I believe," Olivia said.

"Good. Have them meet the transport and bring the patient up to the OR. Do we have an ETA on the ambulance?" Derek asked.

"They're ten minutes out," Olivia informed him.

"Alright, we'd better get moving then," Derek said, putting the chart back on the counter and heading off to the attendings' locker room to change into his scrubs.

* * *

Meredith sat back against the side of the crowded ambulance, holding Laura to her chest, trying to calm the crying baby. She hadn't expected that the paramedics would allow her to ride along with the baby in tow, but as usual, Meredith underestimated her own influence within the tight-knit paramedic community. As soon as she had mentioned her own name, they had instantly recognized her as the doctor who had risked her own life to save their friend Ray when he was trapped under an ambulance several months earlier. They had eagerly agreed to do her the favor of allowing her and the baby to ride with Molly; in fact, they had insisted upon it.

As they neared Seattle Grace, Meredith noticed Molly beginning to stir on the stretcher.

"Molly?" she said softly, shifting Laura to one hip and taking Molly's hand in her own.

"Meredith…what…what happened?" Molly asked, her voice shaking and her words slurring, another sign of the massive hematoma in her brain.

"Shhh…Molly, you were in an accident. We're on our way to Seattle Grace," Meredith said.

"Laura…" Molly said softly. "Meredith…take care of Laura…"

"I will, Molly, she'll be fine. You just focus on getting better, okay?" Meredith tried to reassure Molly, but she soon realized that her sister had once again slipped out of consciousness.

* * *

"O'Malley, you're late," Bailey snapped as George entered the ambulance bay.

"What? Did I miss the ambulance?" George asked in confusion.

"No, but you're an intern, O'Malley. You're supposed to get here first," Bailey replied. "I was here before you, therefore you are late. Don't let it happen again."

"Yes, ma'am," George mumbled, just as the ambulance pulled up. As the doors opened, George and Bailey rushed forward to help unload the stretcher.

"What do we have?" Bailey asked the paramedics.

"Molly Thompson, age 23, sustained a traumatic brain injury from a head on motor vehicle collision, transferred from Mercy West for immediate surgery," the paramedic rattled off before moving on to Molly's vitals.

George stared for a moment at the patient before he managed to piece together the familiar name and face. "Oh God," he cried out as his hand flew to his mouth. "Oh my God!"

Bailey glanced up, confused by his reaction. "O'Malley, what the hell is wrong with you?"

George didn't reply, just muttered once more, "Oh my God," as he continued to stare at the young woman on the stretcher.

"Yeah, 'oh my God' is about the same reaction I had," a familiar female voice said, emerging from the back of the ambulance. George and Bailey both looked up, shocked to see the driver helping Meredith Grey climb out of the vehicle, a small baby in one hand and a baby carrier in the other. "George, I take it you remember Molly?"

George nodded. "Yeah…I remember."

"Good," Meredith said, noting the confusion on Dr. Bailey's face. "Dr. Bailey, that's Lexie's…that's my sister you've got there. Please, just don't tell Derek. It will distract him, and this is a hard enough case as it is, without dealing with a distracted neurosurgeon. Can you do that for me, please?"

"Won't he know she's your sister?" Bailey asked.

"I don't think so. He knows about Molly, but he never actually met her, and I don't think he knows her last name," Meredith explained.

"Okay then. O'Malley, you alright to scrub in?" Bailey asked, relieved when George nodded. "Good, take Mrs. Thompson up the OR and tell Dr. Shepherd I'm on my way."

"Yes, ma'am," George replied, shooting Meredith a sympathetic smile before grabbing the stretcher and helping the nurses wheel it off towards the elevator.

"Grey, you look like crap. Are you alright?" Dr. Bailey asked, taking in Meredith's haggard appearance.

Meredith nodded. "I have to be, Dr. Bailey. I can't not be alright, not right now. I…my sister has a massive subdural hematoma in her frontal lobe, my other sister is having a complete breakdown because of it, my brother-in-law is dead…and I won't even get started on this little baby, because apparently she's my responsibility now too, and I don't have a clue how to take care of a baby, which means I should be completely freaking out. Massively freaking out. There should be some serious Meredith-style freaking out going on right now...but I can't. I can't lose it, not this time. My…my family needs me to be okay, so right now, I have to be alright. I can't break down too. Not today."

Dr. Bailey nodded. "Take a breath, Meredith. Go up and lie down in an on call room. I'll come find you when we get out of surgery."

* * *

"Meredith?" Olivia approached slowly and cautiously, dropping all professional formalities when she saw Meredith slumped down in the on call room, Laura sleeping in the baby carrier at her feet.

"Olivia? What's wrong? Did something happen with Molly? She just went into surgery five minutes ago…" Meredith asked, suddenly panicked.

"No, no, as far as I know everything's fine. Um…Dr. Bailey asked me to give this to you," Olivia said, and Meredith noticed the small box she was holding. "It's just some bottles and formula she keeps on hand for her son. You can come find me when you're ready to feed her, and I can show you what to do. And there are some diapers here too…I stole them from pediatrics because I figured your niece was too small to use the one's Dr. Bailey had."

Meredith smiled at the gesture. "Thank you, Olivia. I appreciate it. Lexie should be here soon…she's supposed to pick up some of Laura's things, but I don't know if she'll be able to think straight to get everything, so thank you."

* * *

"Good evening, everyone. It's a beautiful night to save lives. Shall we get started?" Derek Shepherd announced as he walked into the OR, smiling when he saw Miranda Bailey and George O'Malley already scrubbed in and waiting near the patient. Taking a quick look at the patient, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen her somewhere before.

_Maybe she visited the chief at some point_, he thought, recalling that he'd been told that this woman was a friend of the chief's family.

"Dr. O'Malley, tell me what we're going to be doing today," he instructed, as a nurse tied his gown behind his back and positioned his head gear.

"We're performing a craniotomy to repair an acute subdural hematoma and reduce the intracranial pressure that developed as a result of a motor vehicle collision," George replied.

"Excellent. And what part of the brain are we going to be working in today?" Derek asked.

"The CT scan reveals that the hematoma is centered mainly in the frontal lobe, although there are indications that the bleeding may be spreading into the parietal lobe," George said.

Derek nodded as he carefully opened the skull flap and took his first look at the patient's brain. "Damn," he muttered under his breath.

"Dr. Shepherd?" Dr. Bailey asked, wondering what had evoked his reaction.

"Dr. Bailey, come here and tell me what you see," Derek instructed. "Dr. O'Malley, you might want to take a look at this too."

Both doctors cautiously approached and both took sharp breaths as they noted the extent of the damage. This was going to much more difficult that anyone had imagined.

"Do either of you have a name for our VIP patient?" Derek asked, realizing as he returned to the delicate process of clearing out the bleed that he hadn't even had time to learn the young woman's name.

"Molly Thompson, age 23," Dr. Bailey stated matter-of-factly, carefully looking for any signs of recognition on Derek's face. To her immense relief, she found none, as he merely nodded and continued to work.

"So young, it's sad really. Is Ms. Thompson's family here, Dr. O'Malley?" Derek asked. He liked to know about his patients when he operated on them. He'd always said it gave him motivation, knowing that someone was waiting for them, that someone was depending on him to do his job well.

"Um…her husband was killed in the crash, sir," George replied, hoping his voice wouldn't give away his connection to the patient.

Derek shook his head. "Much too young for this, much too young. Any other family?"

"I believe she also has a daughter, six months old," George said.

Derek nodded as he worked. "Poor thing. At least at that age, she won't remember the day her world turned upside down. Was she in the crash as well?"

"Um…I don't know, Dr. Shepherd," George said. "I know that she's with Mrs. Thompson's sister now, though. I saw her just before we came in...they came over with her from Mercy West. So if she was in the crash, she wasn't injured badly."

"That's good to hear," Derek said. "I'm glad she has family to stay with, because it looks like Mrs. Thompson here may be needing to stay with us for quite some time."

After a few minutes of silent work, Derek spoke again. "So, if Mrs. Thompson is so important to the chief, why isn't he hovering in the gallery?"

Bailey and George exchanged a brief look of panic before Dr. Bailey came up with an appropriate cover story. "I don't think he actually knows her personally, Dr. Shepherd. I believe he said he used to know her father. I think this is a favor for him."

"Oh, I thought he knew her himself. She looks extremely familiar. I just thought maybe she'd come to visit him before or something," Derek mused.

Now it was George's turn to cover. "Well, I don't think it was to visit him, but she has been here before. Your wife…well, ex-wife…um, Dr. Montgomery delivered her daughter before she moved to Los Angeles. I worked the case for a while."

"Ah, well, that must be it then," Derek agreed, still feeling as though he were missing something.

* * *

After Lexie had returned with, as Meredith had suspected, nothing more than a few pairs of Laura's clothes, Meredith had left the two asleep in the on call room. Stopping at the nurses' station, she asked Olivia to call her if Lexie came looking for her, and then proceeded to slip into the OR gallery.

She knew she shouldn't be there. There was a reason doctors didn't perform surgery on their own family – it was too difficult to watch it, let alone perform it. She didn't bother to turn on the lights and took a seat near the back despite the fact that the gallery was completely empty. She didn't want anyone looking up and wondering why Meredith Grey was sitting in the gallery, watching Derek Shepherd perform a craniotomy on her first night off in weeks.

As she sat there, watching the surgeons pick apart her sister's brain, Meredith finally let her control slip. For the last few weeks, for the first time in her life, she'd felt truly connected. Sure, her friends at the hospital were still more of a family than what she had with Molly and Lexie. But there was something about being close to Molly and Lexie, something she never could have imagined feeling. A sort of closeness that she'd never felt with anyone, not even Cristina. She could only imagine that maybe, just maybe, there was something to be said for blood being thicker than water. Dr. Wyatt had said in their therapy session that she needed to stop questioning it so much. If she felt a connection to her sisters, she should just go with it.

_Well_, she thought to herself. _Here I am, just going with it._

She didn't even notice the tears falling until she felt them hit her hands. By that time, there was no stopping them, not at that moment. She took comfort in the fact that she was alone, that no one was going to witness this particular breakdown. There were no shaking sobs, no panting breaths, just a slow, steady stream of silent tears.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there – an hour, maybe two or even three – before she heard the gallery door open. She didn't even need to look up to know who it was. She recognized all her friends by just their footsteps at this point. She should have known they'd send someone looking for her when she didn't show up at Joe's. She was just glad they hadn't sent Izzie, who would be much too touchy-feely for that particular moment.

He didn't say anything as he silently took the seat next to her. After a few minutes, he looked over at her, and for the first time noticed the tears.

"You need me to call Yang?" he asked, unsure how to handle the situation.

"No," she replied softly. "I'm fine."

He laughed dryly. "Right. Which is why you blew us off on your only night off all week, to sit in the dark in an empty gallery, crying and watching Shepherd performing a craniotomy. Because you're fine. Seriously, Mer, it's time to move on from that loser."

"It isn't what you think, Alex," Meredith replied, knowing that he assumed this was yet another Derek-focused breakdown.

"What is it, then?" he asked skeptically.

"Molly," she whispered, feeling a fresh batch of tears starting to fall. Alex stared silently at her, and she knew he wasn't making the connection. "My sister, Molly…she's…Molly is…that patient on the table right now, that's Molly."

"Crap…" Alex muttered under his breath. "What happened?"

"Head on collision."

"Does Lexie know?" Alex asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah. She's asleep in the on call room right now. I figured I'd let her rest for now," Meredith said. She quickly noted the change in Alex's body language and the look that crossed his face. She sighed, knowing she needed to make sure he didn't make things any worse than they already were.

"Alex, she's a complete mess right now. Seriously, she hasn't stopped crying all night. She's vulnerable right now. I'm not going to tell you that you can't go to her, but please, Alex, whatever you do, don't hurt her. She's already lost too much…first Susan, now Eric's dead and Molly's barely hanging on…" Alex opened his mouth to speak, but Meredith cut him off. "Don't give me that crap about how Molly's strong and she can still fight. I'm a doctor, I know the odds, and I've spent all night spouting that bright and shiny crap to Lexie, because it is what she needs to hear. It's not what I need to hear. I know things don't look good. I saw the look in her eyes in the ambulance, I heard her voice when she asked me to take care of Laura…that was the last thing she said, you know that? She asked me to take care of her baby. People ask those sorts of things when they don't think they're going to make it. I know she's going to need some sort of miracle to pull through this, so please spare me the hopeful lecture, okay?"

"Okay," he replied simply.

"Look, just please don't hurt Lexie right now," Meredith sighed. "Don't give her hope if there isn't any, and don't string her along. I know you two started this thing as some sort of weird no-strings-attached relationship, but you can't kid yourself thinking that's all it is anymore. It isn't for her, and it sure as hell isn't for you, either. You've got that same puppy dog look you got when you were with Izzie, maybe even worse, so don't pretend you don't care. Just don't you dare break my sister, you got it?"

"I get it," Alex replied, stunned that Meredith not only seemed to know how he felt about Lexie, but that she seemed to think that Lexie felt the same way.

"Alex…" Meredith began to speak again, but she was interrupted by a sudden flurry of activity on the OR floor below, followed closely by an ominous and surreally loud alarm sounding throughout the room.


	4. Making The Connection

**A/N:** Again, thank you to everyone who left reviews for the last chapter! I'm sorry for leaving you with such a cliffie in that last paragraph - I know, I can be a bit evil with the drama sometimes. In my defense, however, I resolve it in the very first paragraph of this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

"Oh God…" Meredith muttered as Alex dragged her out of the gallery. Just moments before, she'd watched George and Dr. Bailey frantically reviving her sister, barely breathing until she once again saw the steady peaks appearing on the monitors. "I…I need to be in there, Alex," she protested.

"No, you don't. You don't need to see that, Mer. If that happens again, you don't need to see that. Let's go find Lexie, okay?" Alex suggested.

Meredith nodded, silently leading Alex to the on call room where she had left her sleeping sister a few hours earlier. Opening the door, Alex couldn't help but smile as she saw Lexie curled up on the bed, a sleeping baby resting on her chest.

"So now we just wait?" Meredith asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, being careful not to disturb Lexie or Laura.

"Being family and not a doctor really sucks, doesn't it?" Alex said, more a statement than an actual question. "Do you need me to call Yang or Izzie for you?"

Meredith paused for a moment, thinking it over. "No, don't call them. Cristina will be all logical and spout off all the medical possibilities, and Izzie will be warm and fuzzy, going on about hope and strength…and then she'll want to hug and bake us muffins. Even if they just want to be supportive, I don't have the energy to deal with anyone besides Lexie and Laura right now."

As if on cue, Laura began to cry, causing Lexie to stir on the bed. Immediately standing up, Meredith hurried over and took the baby out of Lexie's arms. "Shhh, go back to sleep, Lex, I've got this," she whispered to her sister.

"She's probably hungry," Meredith said, turning towards Alex. "They said they fed her at Mercy West, but that was hours ago. I should have been paying more attention, she's probably starving. And she needs a new diaper…can you hand me one from that box there? And a bottle and some formula too, please?"

Alex reached down and handed Meredith what she needed. "I'll just go change her, and then I'll feed her in the hall. I don't want to wake Lexie up…will you stay with her for me?"

"Of course I will," Alex assured her.

"Just remember what we talked about," Meredith cautioned as Alex opened the door for her. "Be good, Alex."

* * *

Meredith spent the next few hours pacing near the nurses' station, taking her only comfort in the innocent look on the face of the sleeping baby in her arms. She didn't want to go back into the on call room, knowing that Lexie needed some time to grieve, and trusting that Alex would, in this situation, be true to his word and able to comfort her.

Finally, she saw the doors to the OR open, and Dr. Bailey came walking out. Her heart raced as she rushed down the hall to where the chief resident was giving instructions to a nurse.

"Dr. Bailey," she said quietly as she approached the woman. "Dr. Bailey, how is she?"

"Meredith," Miranda Bailey replied, the sadness evident in her voice. "Meredith, why don't you sit down over here so we can talk?"

Meredith shook her head. "Please, Dr. Bailey, just tell me what's going on. I know she flat lined at least once, I was in the gallery for that part. I just need to know what happened after that."

"Meredith, the extent of Molly's bleed was much greater than the CT showed. Dr. Shepherd did an excellent job of controlling the bleeding and removing the clots, but I'm not going to stand here and lie to you. This is the part where we usually tell the family to prepare themselves for the worst. She's being moved into recovery right now. As you know, the next forty-eight hours are going to be critical. If she doesn't wake up before then…"

"She probably never will." Meredith filled in what Dr. Bailey was unable to bring herself to say, reality hitting her like a ton of bricks. "I know the drill. How soon will she be in recovery?"

"She's on her way there now," Dr. Bailey replied. "Where's Lexie?"

"In the on call room. She was asleep, and I figured it was best to leave her that way. She's not taking any of this well, although you can't really blame her. I mean, Molly's pretty much the only sister she really has, since we've only just…" Meredith began, but was cut off by Miranda Bailey.

"Meredith, I've seen you two together. Yes, you had a rough start, probably due to that lousy father of yours. But trust me when I say, you standing here right now, the way you act with Lexie, the way you protect her and the way you're protecting that baby…Meredith, you are just as much her sister as Molly is…and, for that matter, Molly is just as much your sister as she is Lexie's."

"Thank you, Dr. Bailey," Meredith replied, not bothering to fight her boss's evaluation of her familial relationships as she normally would have.

* * *

As she approached the on call room, Meredith heard the now familiar sounds of Lexie sobbing even through the door. Quickening her pace, she opened the door and found Lexie wrapped in Alex's arms, weeping into his shoulder as he held her close and rubbed her back. Meredith couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at the sight, knowing that, despite everything, Alex really did care for her sister and would be there for her through all of this. Meredith knew that, at that moment, she had no one to care for her in a similar manner and she couldn't help feeling strangely empty at the thought.

Sensing her presence, Alex looked up to see Meredith hovering in the doorway, Laura pressed close to her chest.

"Any news?" he asked, causing Lexie to snap her head up and look eagerly towards Meredith.

"She's out of surgery, and they're moving her to recovery now. We can go see her there, as long as we're quick. It's not really allowed, you know, but Dr. Bailey said no one will ask any questions, since we work here. She said they would know more about her condition in the morning."

Alex nodded, sensing that there was a lot Meredith wasn't passing along to Lexie, but he knew that she was doing it to protect her. If there was nothing Lexie could do about it anyway, she didn't need any more to worry about, at least not that night.

"We should get to recovery soon," Meredith said. "Then, since there's nothing more we can do tonight, I think we should take Laura home. We can't just stay here at the hospital with a baby."

Alex and Lexie both agreed, and Alex gently helped Lexie to her feet, allowing her to lean heavily on him for support as they worked their way to the recovery wing.

* * *

Derek Shepherd sighed as he walked up to the nurses' station, having been assured by Miranda Bailey that she would handle talking to the patient's family and he should go get changed and get some rest. Dropping the post-op chart into the file for morning rounds, he leaned against the wall and ran his fingers through his hair.

Try as he might, he just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to this patient than what he had been told. She looked too familiar to be just another former patient of Addison's. Six months ago, he and Addison had barely been speaking to each other, so he would have had no cause to see one of her patients. Plus, when she had flat lined, O'Malley had looked as if someone had run over his puppy. He knew George had always been the soft one of his group, but he had learned to keep a mostly professional demeanor on the job, so his reaction alone told Derek that there was more to this patient than everyone was letting on.

Pulling out his cell phone, he winced when he saw seven missed calls from Rose. He knew he should call her back, as any good boyfriend would do after missing a dinner date. She'd been so understanding when he had called to tell her about the chief's emergency patient, and had told him to call when he was finished, no matter the time. But for some reason, Derek just hadn't felt much like talking to Rose over the last few weeks.

* * *

Meredith felt her breath stop for just a moment as she stood in the doorway of the recovery room, looking at the lifeless body of her sister lying within the room, machines and tubes seemingly attached to every conceivable part of her body. She felt Lexie slump further against Alex's side, and she subconsciously gripped Laura just a bit tighter to her chest and leaned her head down, desperate for the strange sense of comfort she got when she felt the baby's soft skin touch her cheek.

Walking into the room, Meredith and Lexie stood silently on opposite sides of the bed, each taking one of Molly's hands in their own, unsure of what to do next. Stepping back, Alex found himself standing just outside the doorway, with George and Dr. Bailey standing at either side of him, taking in the scene before them.

All three were shocked to see that it was Meredith, and not Lexie, who made the first move. Leaning down, Meredith spoke softly to Molly. From outside the door, none of the three doctor's could hear her words, but what Lexie heard as she stood by and watched her sisters brought tears to her eyes once again.

"Molly, it's Meredith. I know, you probably weren't expecting me at the hospital, but I'm here. You're going to get through this, you hear me? You will get through this. Don't worry about Laura, she's fine for now, Lexie and I are going to take really good care of her. You just worry about yourself right now, because even though she's got her aunts, Laura needs her mommy. She needs you, Molly…and…well, Lexie and I, we need you too, Molly. We need a chance, Molly. We need the chance to be a family, and we can't do that if you don't fight. So you fight for your family, Molly. You fight for me, and for Lexie, and you fight for Laura. No more dark and twisty in this family, you got it?"

"She's right, Molly," Lexie said, leaning in to join the conversation. "We need you, Molly. You're the bright and shiny one, and we need that. I've only got one baby sister, Molly…I can't lose you, not now," Lexie paused for a moment, trying to regain her composure as the tears fell from her eyes onto Molly's bed. "I need my baby sister, Molly, and Laura needs her mommy. And we…we were just getting started with Meredith, Molly. You told me, you said you couldn't wait for the day when Meredith felt like part of our family…well, this was so not the way to go about that, Molly…and you need to be around, so that we can all be a family together. Please, Molly…fight for us."

Eventually, Meredith straightened up and walked to Lexie's side of the bed. Adjusting the baby so that she was resting on her hip and supported with one arm, Meredith wrapped her free arm around Lexie's waist, pulling her sister up until Lexie turned and buried her head in Meredith's shoulder.

After a few moments, the trio of waiting doctors silently entered the room, knowing there was no need for any words to be spoken. Alex moved to Lexie's side, softly placing his hand on the small of her back. From a spot just behind Meredith, George placed his hand on her shoulder in a silent display of support. In turn, Meredith tilted her head, resting it on George's comforting hand and allowing him to feel just a few tears falling from her eyes. From Meredith's other side, she felt Dr. Bailey's presence. There was no need for hugging or touching from the woman, just her presence offered comfort enough for Meredith and Lexie.

* * *

Derek found himself wandering the halls of the hospital, unable to bring himself to travel all the way back to his trailer when he knew he'd need to return for work in just a few hours. He had spent relatively little time on his property since his breakup with Meredith. Every time he watched the sunrise over the lake, or heard the birds in the trees, he'd think of how perfect it would have been to share those moments with her, sitting on the porch of their dream house. He had known Meredith wasn't ready for all that; he had known showing her those plans would scare her. From the moment he'd shown them to her, he had wondered why he had done it. Why had he felt the need to push her so quickly? He knew she'd been taking a big step, at least for her, when she asked him to stop seeing other women. Had he just taken it too far?

Some days he wondered where they'd be if he hadn't pushed her way. Would she have been ready by now? As nice as Rose was, and as ready as she was for everything he wanted, she just couldn't be everything he wanted. It was nothing she could control – Rose simply wasn't Meredith. And Derek was starting to realize he had been wrong. He didn't just want the house and the kids and happily after. He wanted them with Meredith, and the thought of having them with anyone else just couldn't compare.

Sighing, Derek decided that if he was going to mope around the hospital at all hours of the night, he might as well make himself useful and go check on his patient. With his mind still on Meredith, he headed into the recovery wing. As he approached Molly Thompson's bed, the sight before him made him stop dead in his tracks.

His mind flashed back to a few weeks earlier, to a conversation he'd had with Meredith after they'd admitted the first patient in their clinical trial.

"_Well, that went well," Derek had said with a smile. "I'm very impressed with how well you've been handling this extra responsibility, Dr. Grey."_

"_Thank you, Dr. Shepherd. You'll be in tomorrow to check on the patient?" Meredith had replied, seemingly at ease for the first time since they had begun working together._

"_Of course, will you be in as well?"_

"_I wish…no, it's my day off. Party time," she laughed._

"_Oh. Got big plans?" Derek asked, hoping he wasn't going to be rewarded with some tale of an upcoming date._

"_Just this family thing," Meredith had said, smiling slightly. "My other sister, Molly, she's having a party for her daughter, and Lexie talked me into going with her."_

_Molly…oh God, Molly Thompson was Meredith's sister._ It all made sense, of course, now that he thought about it. The fact that she looked so familiar…O'Malley's reaction…the changing stories about how the chief knew her…Bailey's insistence that she deal with the family. It all fit.

No one seemed to notice him as he stood there, taking in the scene before him. He found himself wondering just when Meredith had gotten so close to her sisters. When they'd been together, she was only just getting along with Lexie, and that was hard enough for her to deal with, forget adding Molly to the equation. Then again, a lot of things seemed to have changed in the two and half months since they had split. Watching her now, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as he noted how natural she looked with a baby on her hip.

Derek wanted nothing more than to reach out and take her into his arms, to hold her until the pain was gone. Even if he couldn't hold her, he wanted to touch her, to let her know that he was there. Looking at her, though, surrounded by her friends, he noted that there was, quite literally, no place for him in her life. Defeated, he silently turned and retreated from the room.

* * *

"We should get going," Meredith finally said. "Laura needs to sleep, and I think you do too, Lexie."

Nodding, Lexie straightened up, wiping the tears from her face.

"George, you'll be sure to call us if anything changes, right?" Meredith asked, to which George nodded. "I mean it, George, anything. Her BP rises, I want to know about it."

"I'll call you, Meredith, don't worry," George assured her. "Every little thing."

Satisfied, Meredith leaned down and squeezed Molly's hand one last time before turning back to the group. "Alex, will you help me get Lexie to the car?"

As the three of them headed out of the room, Dr. Bailey placed her hand on George's arm, holding him back from joining the trio.

"O'Malley," she said, a clear warning in her voice.

"Don't worry, ma'am, I won't call her unless it's something big. But she wasn't going to leave until I said otherwise."


	5. Collision Course

**A/N:** Again, thank you all so much for the reviews! This chapter has one of my favorite scenes that I've written so far, so I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

"Take her up to my room, Alex," Meredith instructed as she followed Alex and Lexie into her house, Alex practically carrying Lexie by this point. "I'm going to stay down here with Laura for a bit."

"Alex, is that you?" Izzie called out, walking down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Where the hell have you been? We sent you to look for Meredith hours ago!"

Izzie grew quiet as Alex pushed past her, Lexie still crying softly into his shoulder. Meredith stood at the foot of the stairs, her eyes red but dry, her hands clinging to a baby carrier.

"What's going on?" Izzie asked, thoroughly confused about what her friends were doing, and how exactly they had managed to acquire a child in the middle of the night.

"Iz, not now," Alex said, turning back to her for a moment. "Just come on up and leave Meredith alone. Let me get Lexie to bed and I'll explain everything."

Izzie sighed and, after a final glance at Meredith, turned and followed Alex and Lexie back up the stairs. Eventually, Meredith heard the sounds of Alex's voice and Izzie's intermittent gasps of shock, and knew that she was hearing all about that night's events.

Meredith placed Laura, still in the baby carrier, on the couch and slumped down next to her. Wrapping her finger in Laura's hand, she looked at the sleeping baby and smiled softly.

"You're so innocent, you know that, Laura? So innocent. As far as you know, no one's broken you yet…but I think this is the part where things get rough. So, I just want to apologize in advance for whatever happens next. Because I'm not good at this family thing, you know? I don't do families, so I know I'm going to mess this up somehow. Look at me…I don't even have any place for you to sleep tonight."

Meredith sighed, sending up a silent prayer that somehow, she could hold it together and not mess things up too badly.

Despite the fact that she sworn never to think of him, Meredith couldn't help but wish that Derek were there with her. She knew if they hadn't broken up, he'd be right by her side, holding her and letting her cry on his shoulder. He'd be running his fingers through her hair, whispering all the right words to ease her pain. He'd know what to do with Laura, how to take care of her and give her what she needed. He'd have known that they needed something for her to sleep in; he'd have known they needed more than a few diapers, a car seat borrowed from the hospital's social worker and the few sets of clothes Lexie had managed to get from Molly's house.

If she hadn't been so scared then, maybe she wouldn't have to be so scared now. If she hadn't let him push her away, would they even still be together? Or would he have found another reason to leave?

"You can't live in 'what ifs', Laura," she whispered to the sleeping baby. "Promise me you won't do that…otherwise, you'll end up like your crazy Aunt Meredith."

She'd felt almost hopeful when he came into Molly's room. She knew he hadn't thought anyone noticed him, but she'd felt his presence the moment he'd walked through the door. He'd stood there for what seemed like ages, staring at her back. She'd felt his eyes there, felt him staring into her without shifting his gaze at all. And then, just as suddenly as he'd entered, he had turned and left.

She knew that she shouldn't care that he had come – Molly is his patient, after all. And it certainly shouldn't have hurt so much when he left without saying so much as a word. Somehow, though, Meredith couldn't help but feel as if he left her all over again that night. When he'd been standing there, she'd felt almost desperate for him to reach out, to push George and Bailey aside and take her into his arms. She should have known he wouldn't do it; he probably didn't even want to do it. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel utterly and completely alone when she'd felt him leave the room completely.

* * *

Meredith had fallen into a fitful sleep, still sitting on the couch with Laura at her side, when she was jolted awake by a soft knocking at the front door. She quickly checked that Laura was still sleeping, then hurried over to see who would be coming by that late at night. Flicking on the porch light, she didn't even bother peeking through the window first; she was much too tired for caution that night. Much to her surprise, she opened the door to find none other than Miranda Bailey standing there, a large suitcase in one hand and a box in the other.

"Dr. Bailey?" Meredith asked, confused as to why her chief resident was standing on her doorstep, looking almost as if she intended to move in.

"Well Grey, you going to make me stand here all night or you going to let me in?" Dr. Bailey asked, cocking her head slightly to one side and staring straight up at Meredith. Meredith quickly opened the door wide and stepped aside without a word. Stepping into the house, Dr. Bailey moved into the living room and surveyed the scene around her. Clucking her tongue, she whispered. "Just as I thought, yes sir, just as I thought."

Turning back to Meredith, she motioned towards the baby sleeping in the carrier on the couch. "Is that how you intend to leave her all night?" she asked.

"I…well, I don't really have anything else right now…and it's too late to go to the store. I swear, I'm going to go in the morning, and I'm going to go to Molly's and get some of her things…Lexie went earlier, but she just got too upset seeing everything and didn't get much of what we needed. I…" Meredith rambled on, defending her actions until Dr. Bailey raised a cautionary hand.

"I didn't come here to critique your parenting skills, Grey," she said, putting Meredith at ease. "I certainly didn't expect you to have much of anything in this house ready for a baby. That's why I'm here." Reaching over and unzipping the suitcase, Dr. Bailey pulled out a few pieces of what looked to Meredith to be metal poles and some sort of fabric. With a practiced efficiency, Dr. Bailey began snapping the pieces together, assembling what Meredith quickly realized was a portable playpen. The bright blue color told her exactly who it belonged to. Grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch, Dr. Bailey folded it up and laid it in the bottom of the playpen.

Moving over to the couch, she deftly unbuckled Laura from the carrier and lifted her without even causing her to stir. She silently moved back to the playpen, which she had positioned at the edge of the couch, and placed Laura in it, gently wrapping part of the blanket over her.

"We use the playpen as a crib for my son when we travel," she explained to Meredith. "You probably won't want to buy a crib right away when you don't know how long the baby's going to be staying with you, so keep this as long as you need it. Since the separation, we seem to have acquired two of everything for little Tuck, so I can borrow one from my husband if I need it."

Meredith nods. "Thank you, Dr. Bailey," she softly replied.

"Stop thanking me, Grey. I'm not doing you any favors, I'm just making sure you don't kill that baby. And I'm not done yet, so hold your horses." Leaning over to the suitcase, Dr. Bailey begins to pull out items one by one. "Pay attention, Grey, we're going to cover a lot here. In fact, you may want to take notes."

Meredith quickly dashed into the kitchen, grabbing the pad and pen that lay near the phone, and hurried back to the living room.

"Alright Grey, these are pacifiers, I'm sure you know what they're for. Don't worry, Tuck hadn't used these yet, they're still in their packaging…I don't care how much you sanitize them, sharing pacifiers is nasty."

"Don't share pacifiers with other babies…got it," Meredith replied, not bothering to make a note of that one.

"This contraption here is called a baby bjorn. Don't ask me, I think the name is stupid, I think the whole contraption is stupid. But my husband loves it and my son seems to love it, so give it a try. Just strap here and here, and put the baby here," Bailey said, indicating the appropriate spots. "If you like it, keep it. As I said, I hate it and I'll just tell Tucker it went to better use. Actually, since apparently everything I bought is toxic, he's probably got his own by now anyway."

Meredith nodded, looking at the baby bjorn with a slightly terrified look on her face.

"Relax Grey, it isn't going to bite you. Now, we've got bottles and formula here. I understand Olivia picked up a pack of diapers for you from peds, which is good because Laura definitely is too small for Tuck's. Go to the store in the morning and pick some more up. Always make sure you have at least twice as many diapers on hand as you think you need, because one of these days you will forget to buy them, and trust me when I say, the one thing you do not want to run out of is diapers. That baby is awfully small, so I'd say go with the four or five month size on the diapers. Are you sure she's six months old?"

"I'm sure. I remember when she was born, she was bit premature, so that might be it. I'm sure of the date, though. It was right after Derek and Addison got divorced…after Derek's space-taking phase," Meredith said, earning a harsh look from Dr. Bailey.

"Meredith," she said cautiously.

"I know," Meredith interrupted. "I need to stop defining things in relation to my relationship with Derek. I swear, I don't do it on purpose, Dr. Bailey, and I know it isn't healthy…my therapist scolded me for it last week, so I know I need to stop."

"Since when do you see a therapist? How do you have time for that?" Dr. Bailey asked, impressed that Meredith had taken that step to regain control of her life.

"I started a few weeks after Derek starting dating Rose…shoot, there I go again! I'm sorry, I really need to work on that. It's been very helpful, though. I'm seeing Dr. Wyatt at the hospital, she's quite good."

"I wasn't going to tell you to stop, Meredith. I still identify life based on my relationship with my husband…pre-wedding, post-wedding, pre-anniversary, post-anniversary…during the trying to conceive phase…during the giving up phase…during the holy crap the stick turned blue and now I'm pregnant phase…pre-baby…post-baby…now it's post-separation. When you have someone in your life that you love that much, I think it's only natural that you associate the things that happen to you with what is happening with that person. Love makes your whole world revolve around someone else, and sometimes that really sucks."

"It majorly sucks," Meredith interjected.

"Yeah, it majorly sucks. But we can't control it…sometimes we just have to ride it out. If his love is as strong as yours is, then his world revolves around you…which means eventually, your worlds are bound to collide again."

"Dr. Bailey?" Meredith asked in confusion.

"Shut up, Grey, I'm being metaphorical and I'm being sappy, two very rare things. You are ruining my moment."

"Sorry, Dr. Bailey."

"My point, Grey, is that even though I cannot for the life of me understand what you see in that arrogant over-moussed ass of a neurosurgeon, I can see that you love him. And for what it's worth, the over-moussed ass loves you just the same, so even if he can't see it right now, you two are bound to collide again. You two are on a freaking collision course. There, now I'm done being sentimental. You tell anyone about this, you won't see the inside of an OR until you're chief resident."

"I understand, Dr. Bailey."

"Good. Now let's get back to baby stuff. Where was I? Oh yes, we just finished on diapers. What else have we got? Right, Grey, this is a bottle warmer. You need to be careful with this, because if you let it run too long, the bottle will get too hot…"

Dr. Bailey continued on for another half an hour, going through dozens of items that she had pulled from her house for Meredith to use. It seemed that, as under-prepared as Meredith had been to care for a baby, Miranda Bailey had been determined to make her just as over-prepared.

"Well I think that just about covers it," Bailey said, standing up and moving towards the door. When she reached Meredith, she took the pad and pen out of her hands and scribbled a number at the bottom of the page. "That's my personal cell phone number, Grey. My husband and the hospital day care coordinator are the only other people on this planet with that number. So if I suddenly get calls from Stevens or Karev in the middle of the night, I'm hunting you down, got it?"

Meredith nodded, staring at the piece of paper once again in her hands.

"You call me if you think you're about to screw up, and I'll walk you through it again. Last thing you need right now is to kill a baby," Bailey said, shaking her head as she opened the door and turned to leave. As she stepped out onto the porch, Meredith followed and took hold of the door.

"Dr. Bailey?" she called out, causing the other woman to turn and look at her questioningly. "For what it's worth, I think you and Tucker are on a collision course too. He just can't see it yet."


	6. Do You Love Me?

**A/N:** Sorry about the delay in updating! I had a bit of block on how to get what I wanted accomplished in this chapter, but I think I've finally done it. I hope you enjoy, and hopefully there won't be too many more delays like the last one...although, unfortunately, with the way real life is looking in the next few weeks, I'm afraid I can't make any promises.

* * *

Meredith groaned when she heard Laura begin to cry. Glancing at the clock on the DVD player across the room, she saw that it was 5:30 in the morning. Knowing that her friends all had late shifts that morning, she knew no one else would be up at that hour. Shaking out the kinks that came from sleeping on her own couch, Meredith stumbled her way over to the playpen.

"Morning, Laura, are you hungry?" she said groggily as she leaned down and picked up the baby from the playpen. She couldn't help but notice just how happy Laura seemed to be all the time. _Oh, the innocence of being a baby,_ she thought to herself.

"Come on, little lady, let's go make Aunt Meredith some coffee, okay? I can't be anywhere close to perky until I get my caffeine, especially not at this hour. Then, we can see what Izzie left me for breakfast. You get formula, sticking with your oh-so-varied diet. Did your mommy start you on solid foods?" Meredith asked, as she struggled to operate the coffee maker her one free hand. "You can't tell me? That's okay, we'll just stay with formula for now, and we'll figure out the rest later. Maybe we'll go visit the nice nurses in pediatrics, they can tell me what you should be eating."

Sighing, Meredith poured herself her first cup of coffee and grabbed a muffin from the basket on the counter. After making two trips to the table, she took a seat and shifted Laura into her lap. "You know what we need, Laura?" she asked between sips of coffee. "We need to find you a highchair. Do you have one at your house? We'll have to check after we go see your mommy. Would you like that? We'll let Aunt Lexie sleep in, and then Alex can bring her to the hospital when she gets up."

* * *

"Psst…Alex," Meredith hissed, poking his sleeping form in the shoulder. "Alex, wake up!"

"Wha…? What time…Mer, go back to bed, I don't have to be in until noon," he groaned, catching sight of the clock.

"Alex, I can't sleep and Laura is up, so I'm going to take her to the hospital and sit with Molly. Will you stay here and bring Lexie in when she wakes up? I don't want to leave her alone. I can ask Dr. Bailey to let you be late if Lexie sleeps too long."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can I go back to sleep now?" Alex sighed, throwing his head into his pillow.

* * *

"Meredith!" Cristina Yang shouted as she walked into the house later that morning. "Where the hell were you last night?" Pausing for a moment, she looked around, momentarily stunned by what she was seeing. "Why the hell does it look like a Babies 'R Us threw up in the living room?" she shouted, only to realize that it was Izzie, not Meredith, walking down the stairs to greet her.

"Oh…um, wow…" Izzie muttered, taking in the scene in the living room. There were two large piles of toys, stacks of bottles and pacifiers, a small blue playpen set up like a crib, even a stroller, all strewn around the room. The only things missing were Meredith and, of course, the baby. "Uh…I don't know where all the stuff came from, but I guess Mer went and got it."

"Oh Lord, Barbie, please tell me she didn't get herself knocked up," Cristina demanded.

"No, but she and Lexie have to take care of her niece for a while," Izzie sighed, the memory of her heartbreaking conversation with Alex flooding her mind. She had known the moment she saw the look of pain and concern in his eyes that he suspected Laura might need to be with them for more than just 'a little while.'

"Look, let me get some coffee and I'll explain it all to you," Izzie said, motioning for Cristina to follow her into the kitchen.

* * *

Mark Sloan walked slowly down the hall, having just finished piecing together an accident victim's skin grafts. He rarely got called in for emergency surgeries, so he definitely was not used to still being awake at half past six in the morning. He sighed as he took another large sip of his second cappuccino of the morning. It was looking like it was going to be one very long day.

After he finished talking to his patient's family, he started to walk back towards the on call rooms, hoping to grab a few hours of sleep before his first scheduled surgery. As he walked down the hall, he heard the sounds of soft crying coming from a patient's room. Normally, Mark would just ignore sounds like that, leaving it to a nurse or some over-involved intern to comfort the family. Something about the crying, though, sounded familiar to Mark, and before he could think about it, he found himself backtracking to poke his head into the patient's room.

"Grey?" he practically whispered, walking carefully into the room, trying to determine exactly what he was seeing. Sure enough, Meredith Grey was sitting in a patient's room, a baby in her arms. To Mark's surprise, the young woman lying unconscious in the bed looked remarkably like Meredith, and to his even greater surprise, he noticed that the baby did as well.

"Grey, when did you have a baby?" he asked. Shooting him a glare, Meredith shook her head and wiped away a few tears with her free hand.

"I didn't have a baby, Dr. Sloan," she said softly.

"Really? Because I make my living staring at people's facial features, and that kid looks exactly like you," he observed.

Meredith motioned towards the bed. "And her?"

Mark paused momentarily, studying the young woman's face, which was slightly obscured by the bandages covering her skull.

"Okay, so she looks scarily like you as well," he admitted.

"That's Molly...she's my little sister," Meredith said. "And this is her daughter, my niece, Laura."

"Oh," Mark said. "I…um…"

"It's okay, Mark," Meredith sighed. "I guess I should get used to it, if I'm going to be taking care of Laura for a while."

"I didn't even know you had another sister. What happened?" Mark asked, looking at her sympathetically.

"She lives in the suburbs, about 30 minutes outside the city. It was a head on collision on the highway yesterday. The other driver crossed the center line…it must have happened quickly, because they said Eric didn't even have the chance to turn the car away."

"Eric?" Mark asked, not recognizing the name.

"Molly's husband."

"Oh…is he alright?"

Meredith shook her head. "DOA at Mercy West. Survived two tours in Iraq, but came home to this."

"Crap," Mark muttered, pulling up a chair next to her. "And your sister?"

"Acute subdural hematoma in the frontal lobe. Derek did a great job with the craniotomy, but the bleed was pretty bad. Things are…well, it isn't looking great," Meredith said. "I think they'll want to do another CT this morning, to see if any new bleeds have come up. At least, that's what I'd do…if there are any more bleeds, they'll probably need to operate again. And if they do, I just don't think…" Meredith's voice trailed off, unable to finish her thought.

"Don't think that way, Grey," Mark said.

"You'd better not be about to lecture me on being strong, Mark. Because trust me, this is me being strong. I'm not breaking down, so just save me your speeches. Two weeks ago, I was sitting in Molly's house, laughing with my sisters and playing with my niece. Two weeks ago, I finally felt like I was a part of something. Two weeks ago, I had a family for the first in my life. And now? Now I have a sister in a coma, another one at home who can't stop crying, I have Mercy West calling me, wanting to know what I want to do with my brother-in-law's body, I have a baby who is depending on me to hold it together…I do not have time to break down, Mark, so I will not break down. I can't. I won't. I…I won't," she insisted, trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

"Okay then. How long have you been here?" Mark asked. "Do you need anything? Coffee? Breakfast?"

Meredith smiled. "I haven't been here that long. Maybe ten or fifteen minutes. I've had plenty of coffee for now, and I ate before I left the house; Izzie made muffins again." Meredith said.

"Need me to stay with you?" he asked.

"You don't have to; I'm sure you've got patients to see, or nurses to annoy," Meredith said.

"I do not annoy the nurses, I flirt with them," Mark protested. "And they like it, too."

"Sure. You just keep telling yourself that. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure membership in Nurses United Against Mark Sloan has tripled in the last few weeks," Meredith teased.

"Now, that's not very nice. I'm trying my hardest to be supportive, and here you are, making fun of me," Mark said, pretending to be hurt.

"Call it a defense mechanism. I'm allowed a few of those right now, I think," Meredith said.

"Well played, Grey, well played," Mark smiled indulgently. "Tease away, then."

* * *

Derek Shepherd didn't sleep much that night, having opted to remain in the on call room rather than drive back to his trailer for what would only have been three or four hours at most. Now, he found himself sucking down a large cup of coffee, leaning against the nurses' station and pouring over Molly Thompson's chart for what must have been the twentieth time since he'd discovered Meredith and her friends holding vigil in her room.

"Derek?" Rose's voice pulled Derek from his thoughts and he looked to his side to find her standing next to him, smiling softly. "You never called last night."

"Yeah…surgery ran late," he muttered, still staring at the chart.

"Tough case?" she asked, to which he nodded. "Did the patient make it?"

"She's still alive, if that's what you're asking," Derek said. "But it doesn't look good. Even if she does make, the long term prognosis for that sort of traumatic brain injury isn't great."

"I'm sorry," Rose said sympathetically. "Anything about this patient particularly hard?"

"She's only 23, lost her husband in the same accident, has a six month old baby…" Derek paused for a moment, not sure how exactly to put the last part of his concern. "And she's Meredith's sister."

"Oh," Rose's face fell at the mention of Meredith's name, because she now knew the real cause of Derek's distress over this patient. "How's she coping?"

"I…I'm not sure, I haven't really had the chance to talk to her," Derek said, the concern still evident in his eyes.

Rose sighed. "Derek, can we talk privately?" She motioned towards the nearby on call room. Derek nodded and followed her into the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Rose took a deep breath and started speaking.

"I just need to know, Derek. Are you in this? Because the last few weeks, it really feels like you're not, and I think I know why," she said.

"What are you talking about, Rose?"

"Do you love me, Derek?" she asked bluntly.

"I…isn't it a little soon for love?" Derek asked, feeling slightly cornered by the question.

"We've been together for two months," Rose said, as Derek found himself wondering if it had really been that long. "I think that's long enough, because I really do feel like I've fallen for you in that time."

"I don't know what to say, Rose," Derek said. "I really think it's too soon."

Rose smiled sadly. "Just answer me one question," she requested, to which Derek nodded. "How long did it take you to fall in love with Meredith Grey?"

Derek ran his hand through his hair and sat down on the edge of the bed, knowing exactly what Rose's point was. "One night," he said softly.

"That's what I thought," Rose said quietly. "Derek, I think we both know this can't go anywhere if you don't feel the same way I do. And I don't want to just be your rebound girl."

"You aren't…" Derek began to protest, but Rose raised a hand to silence him.

"Maybe you don't see it that way, but Derek, that's what I was. It's okay, I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to that first date. I mean, in the morning you're tied up with Meredith, and by that evening we're going on a date? You'd have to be blind not to see that as a rebound move. I thought maybe it would grow into more, but that was my mistake, not yours. I think we need to just end this and move on, so that we can both be happy," Rose said sadly.

"You want to break up?" Derek asked.

"We need to," Rose replied. "We're not going anywhere. It's been two months, and we still haven't slept together, because somewhere inside of you, you'd still feel like you were cheating on Meredith. If you're that in love with her, Derek, you need to fight for her. You can't just give up on her because she doesn't want to jump headfirst into everything you want. That's not the way real relationships work, Derek. You're not always going to be on the same page about everything, and that's okay. You aren't supposed to pressure her into being ready, you're supposed to help her figure out how to get ready. There's a difference, but just because you didn't see it, doesn't mean you aren't still crazy for her."

"I just don't know what to do," Derek said.

"Look, I'm only going to do this once, because if there's one thing I hate, it's giving my exes relationship advice. Right now, you just need to be there for her, support her, because if her sister's condition is as bad as you say it is, she's going to need your support. Deal with the relationship stuff as it comes up. Don't pressure her, let her set the pace…even if you think it is painfully slow. Just don't give up on her, because any fool can see that she loves you too."

"You think so?" Derek asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I think so," Rose smiled, leaning over and kissing Derek softly on the cheek. "Goodbye, Derek."


	7. In This Together

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this update out! Please know that I am not abandoning this story, I have big plans for what is to come...but as those of you reading my other other fic (Lost & Found) already know, I just got a new job that is requiring me to relocate to the other side of the country on very short notice. So, for the next few weeks, things are going to be extremely hectic for me, and I apologize if updates aren't as regular. Things should settle down near the end of the month, so hopefully this disruption won't last too long! I will still be updating when I get the chance as well, so hang in there, please!

* * *

After sitting with Meredith for nearly an hour, Mark left shortly before eight, heading off to find an intern to torture for the morning with the ever-present, but oh-so-unattainable possibility of scrubbing in on his rhinoplasty that afternoon.

"How's she doing?" Meredith looked up a few minutes later to see Lexie and Alex walking into the room, Lexie's eyes still red from crying most of the night.

"No change," Meredith sighed. "But it's still earlier. I think they'll do another CT later, and that should tell us more."

Lexie took a seat next to Meredith. "Can I…can I hold Laura for a while?" she asked nervously.

"Hey, she's your niece too. My arms are getting sort of tired anyway," Meredith laughed, handing the baby over to her sister, knowing that holding her was more likely to calm her down than anything else. _Dr. Bailey was right,_ Meredith thought sadly. _Everything does make a lot more sense when you're looking at a baby._

"You want to sit, Alex?" Meredith offered, noticing Alex hovering near the door.

"I don't know…do you two want to be alone?" he asked hesitantly.

"Could we just have a little time?" Lexie asked softly, looking more at Meredith for approval than at Alex, who just smiled and walked out of the room. Meredith silently scooted her chair closer to Lexie, placing her hand on her sister's arm.

"I'm scared, Mer," Lexie whispered softly, as she let Laura happily play with her index finger.

"I know, Lexie," Meredith replied just as quietly. "I'm scared too."

* * *

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look like crap," Mark Sloan commented as he walked up behind Derek at the coffee cart.

"Thanks," Derek muttered, sipping his coffee and trying to walk away.

"So, should I assume that this means you still aren't getting any with your little nurse?" Mark teased.

"Shut up, Mark, you don't know what the hell you're talking about," Derek snapped. "You don't have a damn clue."

"What don't I have a clue about? The fact that your nurse dumped you?" Mark asked. "Gossip works fast in this hospital you know. Or maybe you were talking about the fact that you were up half the night cutting into Grey's sister's brain? Because yeah, I could see how that would suck too."

"Gossip really does fly fast in this hospital. I guess the nurses are talking to you again?" Derek commented dryly.

"Nah, that one came from Grey herself," Mark shrugged.

"You saw Meredith?" Derek asked eagerly.

"Yup. She looks worse than you do," Mark said. "But I gotta say, she sure looks good with that baby on her hip. That is one cute kid. I guess if the poor thing's mother's going to be out for a while, she could do a lot worse than Meredith Grey as a fill-in."

"She…she's taking care of the baby?" Derek asked. "You're sure?"

"Yup, positive," Mark said. "Meredith Grey in mommy-mode is not something I thought I'd see, well…ever, but it really does look pretty natural, other than that whole freaked out, deer in the headlights look she's got on her face all the time."

"I…I always said she'd be a good mother," Derek stammered, suddenly overwhelmed by emotion.

"Don't you dare, Shepherd," Mark cautioned. "Don't you dare."

"Dare what, Mark?" Derek asked.

"Try to get back with Grey right now. You realize she's totally messed up, right? Her brother-in-law is dead and her sister isn't much better off, not to mention the fact Lexie is a mess over this whole thing. Apparently the three girls had gotten pretty close lately, and now Meredith is pretty much the only thing holding the Grey family together. She's vulnerable and if you try to get back with her now, all your going to be is the jerk who swooped in and took advantage when she needed a shoulder to cry on."

"So what, you want me to just ignore her?" Derek asked.

"No. I think you should support her. I want you to be there for her, because God knows she's going to need it. I just don't want you to try to push her right now, like you always do, because really, Derek, I know I said you needed to get laid, but right now, that girl's barely hanging on. You don't want her to come back to you just because she's hurting, so be careful," Mark warned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to growing a beautiful little skin flap for that kid with ectopia cordis."

"We've got an ectopia cordis case?" Derek asked. "A heart growing outside the baby's chest? How did I not hear about this?"

"Beats me, you must be deaf, dumb and blind…it's all people have been talking about. Richard even asked Addison to come back for it. Not sure if she said yes, though. Whoever's coming in to do the neonatal stuff, they're coming today, I think, because I'm pretty sure the delivery's scheduled for this afternoon."

* * *

"What are we going to do, Meredith? I mean, what if she doesn't make it?" Lexie asked, her voice shaking with fear.

"We…we can't think like that, Lexie. Bad things happen, and they suck, and we're hurting…but right now, we just have to deal with what we have. It's scary, I get that. I mean, I don't know a damn thing about taking care of a baby, but we can do this. We'll figure it out together."

"Together?" Lexie asked, looking over at her sister.

"Look, I know I haven't always been very open to the idea of family," Meredith said. "But that's the thing I'm learning about family, I guess. Whether you think you want it or not, if they're good family, like you and Molly, they're just sort of there, and eventually, you can't help but love them. So yeah, we're in this together, because you and Molly and Laura, you are part of my family. Which means we stick together when things get bad."

"And this definitely qualifies as bad," Lexie said.

"Seriously bad," Meredith agreed.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Meredith spoke once again.

"Uh…Lexie?" she asked tentatively.

"What is it, Meredith?"

"I was just thinking…do you…I mean…should we…what do we do about Thatcher?" Meredith asked breathlessly.

"I don't know," Lexie sighed. "I hadn't really thought about him, to be honest. It's kind of strange…there was a time when I turned to him for the slightest little thing. And now…this is huge, and I honestly haven't thought about him once since this whole thing started. I mean, I've spent a lot of time wishing Mom were here, but I haven't once…what kind of daughter does that make me?"

Meredith sighed and gripped Lexie's hand a little tighter. "It doesn't make you a bad, one, that's for sure. I shouldn't have brought it up…I'm sorry."

"No, you're right. Someone should probably tell him…but then what if he wants to be here, all the time? I don't think I could handle that. I…it's just, you don't know the half of it, Meredith. The things he said to me, the things he said to Molly. I don't even know what he said to Molly, but it had to bad, because of the two of us, she was definitely the daddy's girl…but she cut him out completely, wouldn't let him anywhere near Laura. Of course, you know that, she said that at Laura's party…I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

Meredith nodded. "I don't know if I could handle him being here, either," she admitted.

"I know it's wrong, but…maybe we could just give it a day or two? See what happens before we call him?" Lexie asked nervously.

"Yeah, we could do that," Meredith agreed, wondering if she should feel guilty that Lexie's reaction made her feel so relieved.

* * *

"You going to stand out here all day, or you coming in to save lives?" Miranda Bailey asked sarcastically, walking up to find Addison Montgomery standing outside the hospital doors, staring at them as if they were about to eat her alive.

"My, my, someone's testy this morning," Addison laughed. "Is that really the best welcome you can muster?"

"Well, excuse me for not being little miss sunshine," Bailey smiled slightly. "You try spending half the night in surgery and see how cheery you are when you're only on your third cup of coffee in the morning."

"Ouch," Addison said sympathetically. "I definitely do not miss nights spent on call. A wonderful perk of private practice. I highly recommend it."

"Sure you do. You miss cutting, you just won't admit it. It's in your blood, just like it's in mine. Although," she added sadly. "I certainly wasn't happy to be cutting last night."

"Tough case?" Addison asked, noting the sad look in Miranda's eyes.

"They're always harder when they hit close to home," Bailey said, just as her pager started going off. "Well, that's my call to head on in. It's good to have you back, Addison."

"I'm not back!" Addison shouted, as Miranda Bailey shook her head and headed off into the hospital. Sighing, Addison set her shoulders and walked into the hospital, eager to get started on the case.

* * *

Addison smiled as she walked up to the elevator and saw Alex Karev waiting there, a bag of food in one hand and three coffees in the other.

"Awfully thirsty this morning, aren't we, Dr. Karev?" she asked lightly, hoping to avoid any tension between the two of them.

"Dr. Montgomery," he said, slightly startled by her presence. "I thought you moved to L.A. What brought you back?"

"I'm not back, Karev. I'm just here for a case. Ectopia cardis," Addison said sternly, hoping to eventually get the word out that she was definitely not staying in Seattle. "Aren't you on the case? I was certain I saw your name on the list somewhere."

"What? Oh, yeah, right, the kid with the heart outside the chest. Yeah, I guess I am," Alex mumbled. "Sorry. I've had other things on my mind."

Addison frowned. A resident forgetting about a once in a lifetime surgery? Something was definitely going on. She was just about to say something when the elevator doors opened. They both stepped on, but Alex surprised Addison by pushing the button for the ICU, rather than the surgical floor.

"Visiting a patient, Karev? I hope you aren't getting overly attached to this one," she said, recalling his connection with the mysterious Ava, now Rebecca, during her last weeks in Seattle.

Before Alex could respond, someone shouted for them to hold the elevator. Addison groaned inwardly when Derek rushed in just before the doors closed.

"Dr. Karev, Addison," he said, nodding politely, clearly not surprised to see his ex-wife.

"Derek," Addison smiled. "You look tired. Late night?"

"You could say that," he sighed. "Dr. Karev, have you seen Meredith this morning? Is she here yet?"

"She's here," Alex replied, not wanting to give away too much. Meredith had hoped to keep Molly's identity a secret in case she need another surgery. "She's with Lexie."

"And Molly, I presume?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Alex nodded. "They're with Molly."

Addison looked back and forth between the two men. Both looked extremely tired, she noted, but more than that, both looked worried, as if someone they loved was in danger of getting hurt. She was also trying hard to figure out why the name Molly sounded so familiar to her, especially when connected with Meredith.

"Is everything alright?" Addison asked the two of them.

"No," they replied simultaneously, Derek sighing as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Maybe if you ask your nurse she'll make you feel better, Shepherd," Alex snapped. Lack of sleep was definitely not good for controlling his emotions.

"Nurse?" Addison asked, raising an eyebrow in Derek's direction.

"You haven't heard yet? He dumped Grey for some scrub nurse," Alex said.

"You did what?" Addison asked, dumbfounded by this information.

"It wasn't like that," Derek protested. "Meredith and I, it was a mutual breakup. And maybe Dr. Karev hasn't heard, but Rose and I are through."

"Right. Whatever you say, Dr. Shepherd," Alex said sarcastically as the elevator doors opened on the ICU floor. "If you'll excuse me, I didn't cut and run at the first sign of trouble, so I'm still taking care of the Grey in my life."

As Derek stared at the now-closed doors, Addison reached out and grabbed the emergency stop button. Crossing her arms over her chest, she whirled around to face her ex-husband.

"What the hell is going on here, Derek?"


	8. Setting It Straight

**A/N:** I know, I know, it's been forever since I updated, and I'm sure many of you thought that this story had been abandoned. I did have to place it on what I called a "temporary hiatus" because of time constraints, but now I've decided that things have calmed down enough that I can bring it back. I'm so sorry to have left you all hanging all these months, and I promise it won't happen again! I hope that those of you who were enjoying this story before will come back and keep reading and reviewing. I anticipate that I'll be able to post at least one or two updates per week, which means this story should be moving along again quickly!

* * *

"Addison," Derek sighed as he stared across the elevator at his ex-wife, who was staring him down with her arms crossed over her chest. "This really isn't…"

"It isn't what, Derek?" Addison interrupted. "It isn't what it looks like? It isn't any of my business?"

"Both," Derek said.

"Well, I'll let you explain what exactly it is," Addison conceded. "But you'd better damn well believe that this is my business too, Derek. You ended our marriage for Meredith Grey. You gave up eleven years for her. It's taken me a long time to get used to that idea, Derek, but I know it was for the best, because you never loved me like you love her."

"Addison…"

"Did I say I was finished?" Addison snapped. "I didn't think so. Your relationship is my business because if you ended our marriage over that woman, the least you can do is have the courtesy to make it work! Derek, I've been gone less than four months and you're already onto someone else? What the hell is the matter you?"

Derek was silent, staring nervously at his shoes, unwilling to look up at his ex-wife.

"This is the part where you speak, Derek," Addison said. "I don't have all day, you know."

"She wasn't ready," Derek admitted. "We were drifting, moving at different speeds…it was like we weren't even in the same relationship sometimes. I couldn't wait forever."

"Forever?" Addison laughed. "For God's sake, Derek, we've only been divorced for a little over six months. That's really your idea of forever? Six months?"

"She wasn't making any progress," Derek tried to explain.

"What happened with the nurse?" Addison asked. "She was your McRebound?"

"You really shouldn't try speaking intern, Addie," Derek said.

"Comes off wrong?"

"More than just a little," Derek agreed before sighing and continuing with his explanation. "Rose was, well, she was perfect. She was exactly where I wanted Meredith to be. She was kind, and funny, and pretty…and she was ready. She was ready for a serious relationship, ready for marriage and kids and happily ever after. She wasn't going to freak out about taking steps, she wasn't going to run every time I mentioned the future. She's everything I thought I was looking for, but…"

"She's not Meredith Grey," Addison filled in. "I know what that's like. God, Derek, you had to drag another woman into this mess you call a love life? Please tell me you're not still seeing her?"

"No, I'm not," Derek said. "She told me she couldn't compete with Meredith, couldn't be in a relationship where I couldn't love her, so she walked away."

"Smart woman," Addison observed.

"I just don't even know how to begin again with Meredith," Derek sighed. "So much has happened, maybe too much…I just want to be able to be there for her again, especially now."

"Why especially now?" Addison asked in confusion.

"Last night, I performed an emergency craniotomy on her sister after she was in a head on collision," Derek said.

"Molly?" Addison asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," Derek confirmed. "Her husband was killed in the crash, she's barely hanging on herself now."

"What about the baby?" Addison asked.

"Apparently, Meredith's taking care of her," Derek said. "I guess there's nothing like a life-or-death situation to force her to acknowledge the family she's been denying."

"You really think it's because of the accident?" Addison asked skeptically. "Because I've known Meredith almost as long as you have, Derek. In the last year, she's been through more life-or-death situations – her own and other peoples' – than most of us will deal with in a lifetime. None of the others motivated any renewed sense of longing for family. I'd bet that there's something more there, something from before the accident. You don't give the girl enough credit sometimes. Just because she's scared of something doesn't mean she isn't capable of it."

"I guess you're right," Derek conceded.

"I always was," Addison smiled wistfully. "As for how you begin, Derek, you start with 'I'm sorry'. It might seem obvious, but common sense has never really been your thing."

"Do you just sit around on the beach and think of ways to insult me?" Derek asked.

"Only on the really lonely days," Addison assured him playfully. "I'm serious, though, Derek. You start with 'I'm sorry' and you move on from there. It'll work itself out from there, if you don't try to force it and just let things develop slowly and naturally."

"How do you know if will work?" Derek asked eagerly.

"Because you two love each other too much for it not to," Addison told him. "I think if I were to really be honest, I've known that from the day I met Meredith Grey."

"I'm sorry about the way things turned out for us, Addie," Derek said. "I really am."

"Don't be," Addison smiled, reaching out and releasing the stop button to restart the elevator. "It's cliché, I know, but maybe things happen for a reason. You've got a second chance at love with Meredith, and I've…well, I've got hope, at least, if nothing else."

* * *

Alex hovered hesitantly in the doorway of Molly's room, watching as Lexie leaned heavily on Meredith's shoulder while Laura slept in the carrier at their feet. Looking up and spotting Alex, Meredith nudged Lexie slightly.

"You can come in, Alex," Lexie smiled, motioning for him to join them.

"I went out and picked up some bagels and coffee," he said, holding up the drinks and the paper bag.

"You brought food?" Meredith asked. "You can definitely come in."

"I always did know the way to a woman's heart," Alex grinned as he walked into the room.

"And here I thought you just wanted into a girl's pants," Lexie teased, surprising even herself with her ability to crack a joke in her current situation.

"You wound me, Lexie," Alex pouted, pretending to be injured. "You know, there is more to Alex Karev than just really great sex."

"I wouldn't say it was that great," Lexie said.

"I so do not even want to go there," Meredith insisted, putting her hands to her ears. "So please don't go there, guys."

"I think we're hurting her not-so-virgin ears, babe," Alex laughed.

"Mock me if you want," Meredith said. "But really, Alex, would you want to listen if your sister were sitting next to you discussing her sex life?"

Alex paused for a moment and frowned. "Point taken, Grey," he conceded. "Maybe we should go for a walk, Lexie? Get some fresh air?"

"Are you okay with Laura for a while?" Lexie asked Meredith.

"We'll be fine," Meredith assured her. "I had her all night and didn't kill her, so I think we're doing alright."

* * *

As the morning wore on and the doctors and nurses slowly filed in for their shifts, word of the previous nights main events quickly spread among the staff. Under any other circumstances, Derek and Rose's breakup would have been the highlight of the gossip mill for at least a week. That day, however, the news of Meredith Grey's sister seemed to overshadow everything else.

Meredith knew the gossip begun in earnest when she began to notice nurses from random departments walking slowly past Molly's room, trying to discreetly peek inside the door. Meredith couldn't help but feel a bit like an exhibit at the zoo, something everyone was pointing at and talking about.

"Excuse me!" she heard a familiar voice shout from the down the hall, instantly drawing the attention of the small gaggle of nurses huddled just out of Meredith's view on the other side of the door. "Do you people not have anything better to do? Is this what you are paid to do, stand around and talk about everyone else? I suggest you get your asses back to your assigned departments immediately, before I change my mind and call the Chief on all of you!"

"Thanks," Meredith said softly as she looked up to see Addison Montgomery appear in the doorway.

"Vultures, all of them," Addison sighed, shaking her head as she walked into the room. "One part of hospital work that I definitely do not miss dealing with."

"I didn't know you were coming back," Meredith said nervously, feeling slightly uncomfortable with her ex-boyfriend's ex-wife's presence in her sister's room.

"Oh, I'm not back," Addison insisted. "I'm only here to help with a case. As soon as that's done, I'll be back in L.A."

"Right, the ectopia cardis case," Meredith nodded. "I guess it slipped my mind. Sorry."

"You've got plenty of other stuff on your mind," Addison said. "It's understandable. How's the baby doing? Laura, right?"

Meredith nodded as she looked down at the sleeping baby. "She's fine," Meredith said. "Blissfully unaware that life is never going to be the same. Sometimes I think we all probably had our happiest times when we were far too young to remember them."

"Oh, I don't know, being an adult isn't all that bad," Addison said.

"Says the woman without the sister in the hospital bed," Meredith sighed. "At least you'd probably know what to do with a baby. I'm clueless…honestly, I don't even know what to feed her. I left a message at her pediatrician's office to see if they knew if she'd started on solid food yet, but it's Saturday, so who knows if they'll even get the message before Monday."

"She's about six months, right?" Addison asked.

"Yeah," Meredith agreed.

"Well, she's probably at least on rice cereal, if nothing else," Addison said. "It should be safe for you to start her on a bit of that, at least until the doctor calls back and lets you know if she's started on something else as well."

"Rice cereal?" Meredith asked.

"I know, it's pretty nasty stuff," Addison said. "Smells awful and probably doesn't taste much better, but it's great for transitioning babies onto solid food."

"Thanks," Meredith said.

"Any time," Addison smiled. "I've got to go meet the chief to go over the case, but feel free to page me if you need anything, alright?"

* * *

"You can't stand out here all day," Addison said as she walked out of Molly's room to find Derek hovering just out of sight.

"I know," Derek sighed.

"Just go in, Derek," Addison encouraged. "Molly's still your patient, even if you're afraid to see Meredith. You can't stay away forever."

Derek nodded as Addison patted his shoulder and headed off toward the elevators. Taking a deep breath, Derek tried to steady his emotions and slowly made his way toward the ICU doors, wondering just what would greet him on the other side.


	9. High Maintenance

**A/N: **I know, it's been more than the week that I originally promised. Life really doesn't want to cut me any slack these days, I guess. The next chapter is already halfway done, though, so it should be ready for posting reasonably soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the new update and find it at least somewhat worth the wait!

* * *

Derek paused for a moment in the doorway, watching as Meredith gently removed Laura from her carrier and soothed her in her arms.

"Are you coming in, Derek?" Meredith asked, not looking up from the baby.

Derek started just a bit, wondering how she had managed to see him there when he'd been so quiet. "I, um, yeah," he stuttered. "How did you know it was me?"

"Call it a sixth sense," Meredith said wistfully. "It's the same way I knew you were hovering in the recovery room last night."

"You saw me?" Derek asked, again surprised.

"Again, 'saw' probably isn't the right word," Meredith said. "It's more like I felt you there."

Derek nodded, his spirits lifted just by the simple revelation that she still felt their connection, even if only a bit.

"How's she doing this morning?" he asked as he pulled Molly's chart from the end of the bed.

"About the same," Meredith sighed. "Her EEG output was still close to normal when they ran it this morning, which I guess is a good thing."

"That's a great thing," Derek assured her. "It means her brain is functioning, and it's a good sign in terms of her chances of waking up."

Meredith nodded. She had, of course, already known this information, but still found it somehow comforting to hear it coming from Derek. "Will you be running another CT today?" she asked.

"After rounds, yes," Derek said. "I'll have Dr. O'Malley come up and take her down for the scan. Are you doing alright?"

"I'm hanging in there," Meredith said as she adjusted Laura in her arms. "I'm fine."

"My favorite word," Derek said, smiling slightly. "You're always fine."

"Why are you doing this, Derek?" Meredith asked. "Why are you acting like you care?"

Derek sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "I do care, Meredith," he said. "I could never stop caring about you."

Meredith shook her head and turned her gaze back to Laura. "I can't do this, Derek," she said. "Not now, not today. I can't deal with you being all dreamy today, not with everything that's happened, not when you're just going to turn around and walk out of here with your new girlfriend."

"Meredith, that's not…" Derek began.

"Derek," she said cautiously. "That's exactly what this is, and I can't handle it. Not while I'm taking care of Laura, not while Molly needs me here. So please, just don't."

"Meredith, Rose and I broke up," Derek said, hoping to convince her to let him be there for her.

Meredith stared at him for a moment, a shocked look on her face as his words began to sink in. She sighed sadly as she shifted Laura in her arms.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that, Derek," she admitted. "I don't know what you expect me to do right now."

"Nothing," Derek insisted. "I don't expect anything from you right now. You've got enough on your plate as it is. I just…"

"This doesn't change anything, Derek," Meredith interrupted. "I can't do this again."

"What do you mean?" Derek asked, concern filling his voice.

"I can't be your backup girlfriend, Derek," Meredith said quietly. "I can't be the girl you run to when your safe relationship falls apart. I deserve better than that, Derek, and you know it."

"Meredith, I…"

"No, Derek, just…no," Meredith shook her head. "I love you, but I can't let you bounce in and out of my life anymore. I can't do it anymore, it's too exhausting."

"Loving me is exhausting?" Derek asked. "I think I've heard that before."

Meredith sighed as she strapped Laura back into her carrier and stood up to face Derek.

"I can't keep having the same arguments, Derek," she said. "I don't want to fight with you. Right now, I need that energy to keep myself from falling apart. I need that energy to take care of my niece, to take care of my sisters. I don't have time to start a relationship, especially not one with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Derek asked in confusion.

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Meredith said. "It's just…well, Derek, you are a very high maintenance person to be in a relationship with."

"My relationships are not high maintenance," Derek protested.

Meredith shook her head with a sad smile. "You're right, for you, they're not," she said. "Because our relationship, it was always all about you, what you needed, when you were ready."

"That's not true," Derek said, slightly angered that Meredith seemed to have such a cynical view of their relationship.

"It's not that I minded necessarily," Meredith said. "I mean, I'd never had a relationship before, how was I supposed to know it wasn't supposed to be like that?"

"Meredith…" Derek muttered in concern as she slipped down into her chair and rested her head in her hands.

"You lied to me," Meredith whispered, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. "You lied to me and you never thought it was important enough to apologize for that. You just expected me to forget everything that happened and move on. And I did, because I loved you, and I thought that's how it worked when you loved someone. I waited when you needed me to. I tried so hard to be what you wanted me to be, but I couldn't do it."

"All I ever wanted was you, just the way you are," Derek insisted, slipping into the chair next to Meredith and tentatively taking her hand.

"I drowned," Meredith said softly, not daring to look at Derek. "My mother died, my stepmother died and I drowned, but you couldn't let me grieve. You couldn't handle me being upset about those things. Our relationship couldn't be about me, it couldn't be about you being there for me, it had to be about the fact that my problems were suffocating you."

"I never said that," Derek argued.

"No, sorry, you didn't," Meredith agreed. "You said you couldn't breathe for me anymore. You told me to put you out of your misery. Forgive me, that's so different than my problems suffocating you."

"Meredith, don't be like this," Derek sighed.

"Don't be like this?" Meredith asked, pulling back in her seat to get a good look at him. "This, this is why we cannot have a relationship, Derek. Because I am like this. This is me! I'm not going to change that for you. You've got some nerve, telling me that all you ever wanted was me, just the way I am, and then not two minutes later, turning around and telling me not to be the way I am."

"Meredith, I didn't mean…" Derek tried to apologize, but was cut off by Meredith once again.

"This can't be about you," Meredith said. "I'm going to be a little bit selfish, Derek. For once in my life, I'm standing up for what I need. Right now, I need my friends, because they're not going to try to make this about them. They're going to take care of me, they're going to support me, so that I can support and take care of Molly, Lexie and Laura. They're going to be there for me, just like I've been there for them. Because that's how any relationship, whether it's a friendship or something more, that's how it's supposed to work. I know that now."

"What are you saying?" Derek asked.

"I think she's saying she wants you to leave, McDreamy," Cristina said from the doorway, catching both Derek and Meredith off guard.

"Dr. Yang, I really don't think…" Derek began.

"Was I unclear?" Cristina asked sternly, walking into the room and standing in front of Derek, staring him down. "Let me be more direct, then. Get your ass out of here."

Derek sighed as he looked over at Meredith, whose eyes confirmed that Cristina was interpreting her message correctly.

"I'll come by after the CT results are in," he said sadly before slowly walking out of the room.

* * *

"Thanks," Meredith said to Cristina after Derek had left the room. "I just can't deal with him right now."

"Why didn't you call me?" Cristina asked.

"Excuse me?" Meredith asked in confusion.

"I'm your person," Cristina said. "We drag bodies, that's what we do. Why didn't you call me last night?"

"There was nothing you could have done," Meredith said. "Unless you wanted to help take care of the baby?"

"Um, no," Cristina said. "I don't do small people, you know this."

"There were no bodies to drag, Cristina," Meredith said. "You don't do the whole hugs and support thing, and that's what last night was for me and Lexie."

"You let Evil Spawn stay," Cristina pointed out.

"He's in love with Lexie," Meredith said. "Of course he stayed."

"He's what?" Cristina asked in shock. "Okay, one, Evil Spawn does not do love. And two, he's Evil Spawn and she's, well, whatever the hell she is to you. You're okay with this?"

Meredith shrugged. "I guess," she said. "It's not as thought there's really much I could do about it even if I wasn't. As long as he doesn't hurt her, I don't really have any reason to object, do I?"

"You've gone soft, you know that?" Cristina said. "Therapy has definitely not been good for you."

* * *

"How'd it go with Meredith?" Addison asked as Derek walked up to the nurses' station where she was standing with Mark and Erica Hahn.

"Not great," Derek sighed, grabbing his charts from the pile.

"Problems with the ex, Shepherd?" Dr. Hahn asked. "This is why I keep my personal life out of the hospital."

"Even though you'd have so much more fun if you brought it in," Mark pointed out.

"Drop it, Sloan, I am not sleeping with you," Dr. Hahn snapped as she walked away from the group.

"Losing your touch there, Mark?" Addison teased.

"Definitely not," Mark insisted. "Mark Sloan still has what it takes to get the ladies, don't you worry. But really, shouldn't we be talking about Derek and how he fizzled in his attempt to get back in Grey's good graces?"

"What happened, Derek?" Addison asked. "Did you tell her it was over with the nurse?"

"Yes, I did," Derek said. "She didn't want to hear it."

"What did you expect?" Mark asked. "Give the woman some time, she's going through hell right now."

"Was I high maintenance when we were together?" Derek asked Addison.

"Um…well, you did take an inordinate amount of time to do your hair every morning," Addison. "But something tells me that's not the type of maintenance you're talking about."

"Meredith says I was high maintenance when we were together," Derek sighed. "She says that even when she was hurting, I made it all about me. You were both there…was I really that selfish?"

"Well, you did never apologize," Mark pointed out. "You know, for not telling her you were married, for calling her a whore when she dated the vet, all sorts of things like that. You just expected her to move forward without dealing with any of that."

"You called Meredith a whore when she dated Finn?" Addison asked in shock.

"How do you even know about that?" Derek asked Mark.

"I go to Joe's," Mark said, as though it were the most obvious answer in the world. "Grey's very talkative when she's drunk."

"Can we get back to you calling a whore, please?" Addison asked. "What the hell were you thinking, Derek?"

"I was jealous," Derek sighed. "I'm sure you noticed that it bothered me when I found out."

"Yeah, that was obvious," Addison cringed at the memory. "You never told her you were sorry?"

"I thought we'd moved on," Derek said. "I didn't see any point in dragging up the past if I didn't have to."

"You really are extremely brainless for a brain surgeon," Addison said. "And for the record, you are a bit high maintenance in relationships."

"I am?" Derek asked in surprise, having not truly expected Addison to agree with Meredith's assessment.

"Things need to revolve around you," Addison said. "You like being the center of attention. If there's someone to feel sorry for, someone who needs to be comforted or taken care of, it always has to be you. You're not so great at returning the favor when the shoe's on the other foot."

"No wonder she doesn't want anything to do with me," Derek sighed. "She said she needed people who were going to support her, help take care of her so she could take care of her sisters."

"It's about damn time that girl developed a selfish streak," Mark commented. "I was starting to think she lacked that part of the dirty mistress gene."

"Prove her wrong, Derek," Addison advised. "Don't be overbearing about it, but if you want to ever have a shot with her again, prove to her that you can take care of her, that you can be the unselfish, supportive one, even if it's just as a friend."


	10. History Varies

**A/N:** I feel like I start every chapter this way these days, but I do want to apologize for yet another delay in getting this chapter up. I suppose I should explain that one of the downsides of my new job is that I am sometimes on-call for emergency situations, which can sometimes lead to crazy hours when they occur.

For this chapter, we're getting back to the Meredith/Lexie relationship that was the core of the story originally. Things have drifted around a bit in the last few chapters, with other relationships coming to the foreground. There's nothing wrong with that, but I figured it was time to get back, at least for this chapter, to what the story was originally meant to explore. Enjoy!

* * *

"You want to know something strange?" Lexie asked as she and Meredith sat alone in Molly's room later that morning. George had taken Molly down to radiology for her post-surgery CT, while Alex and Izzie had taken Laura back to Meredith's house for a few hours, leaving the two sisters completely alone for the first time since they had arrived at Mercy West the night before.

"What?" Meredith asked.

"I hate hospitals," Lexie said. "I'm a doctor, and I love what I do, but I cannot stand hospitals. I mean, I get that surgery and hospitals are sort of linked, and I really do love being a surgeon, but I still hate hospitals."

"That is sort of strange, Lexie," Meredith agreed. "Most people don't choose jobs that require them to spend the majority of their life in a place that they hate."

"Well, I don't think I always hated them," Lexie said. "Just recently, it seems like all of the bad things in my life are happening at the hospital."

"That might have something to do with the fact that the only time you're not at the hospital is when you go home to sleep," Meredith pointed out.

"I suppose that's a valid point," Lexie said. "Still, you don't ever think that maybe we're cursed or something? Like, somehow we've incurred bad hospital karma?"

"I don't believe in curses," Meredith said. "And I certainly don't believe in karma."

"You don't?" Lexie asked.

"Trust me, if karma existed, a lot of things in our lives would be very, very different," Meredith said. "My grandmother used to tell me that karma was for people too lazy to shape their own destinies."

"What was your grandmother like?" Lexie asked. "Somehow, I'm having a hard time picturing the type of woman who raised the infamous Ellis Grey."

"Honestly?" Meredith asked. "I have no idea what Ellis' mother was like."

"What do you mean?" Lexie asked.

"I've never met any of my mother's family," Meredith said. "Her parents died when she was in college, and she didn't really have any other relatives."

"But you just said that your grandmother said karma didn't exist," Lexie said in confusion. "I think I'm missing something here."

"Oh no, I meant Vivi," Meredith said. "Sorry, I guess that wasn't clear."

"Vivi?" Lexie asked, still perplexed. "Who's Vivi?"

"Um, Vivian Grey," Meredith said, now finding herself confused as to why Lexie seemed so bothered by the comment.

"Wait, you mean Dad's mother?" Lexie asked in shock. "You remember Grandma Vivian? I mean, I guess it makes sense that you met her, because she was around when Dad was still married to Ellis. But you actually remember her? I mean, really remember her? Not just pictures or stories?"

"Of course I remember her," Meredith said, giving Lexie a confused stare. "Why wouldn't I? My memory is perfectly fine, you know, it wasn't that long ago."

"No, I don't mean to insult your memory or anything," Lexie backpedaled. "It's just surprising, that's all. I mean, you were what, five years old when she died?"

"Nineteen," Meredith said, growing more confused by the moment.

"Nineteen what?" Lexie asked.

"I was nineteen when Vivi died," Meredith said.

"No, no you weren't," Lexie insisted. "Grandma Vivian died in 1981, two years before I was born. You were five in 1981, Meredith."

"Yes, I was five in 1981," Meredith said. "But I was nineteen in 1995, which is when Vivi died. I sat by her side at the hospital, I signed her DNR, and I held her hand while the nurses disconnected her life support. You'll have to trust me on this, Lexie, it was 1995."

"No," Lexie shook her head. "No, there's some sort of mistake here. Why on earth would Dad lie about that? There was no reason, no reason at all, and he absolutely told me that his mother died in 1981."

"I don't know," Meredith said. "I wish I had an answer, but I don't know."

"Maybe there's some sort of mix-up," Lexie said. "Maybe she somehow faked her death or something. That could happen, right? And then Dad thought that she was dead, so he wasn't really lying."

"Lexie…" Meredith said cautiously.

"No," Lexie protested, more to herself that to Meredith. "The one good thing I can say for Dad is that he never lied to us. Not once, not about anything. He didn't even lie about you. He told us we had a sister, he told us you were out there somewhere. If he told us the truth about that, there's no way that he would lie about this. He couldn't have known, he couldn't…"

"He came to her funeral, Lexie," Meredith interrupted gently. "I wish I could make this better by saying he didn't know, but he did. He was there the day we buried her."

"He was?" Lexie asked meekly.

"He was," Meredith confirmed. "He sat in the back and left right after the burial. He came back later, though, to put flowers on her grave, after he thought everyone had gone home. I don't think he saw me watching, but it was definitely him."

"Oh," Lexie sighed, an air of defeat in her voice as she slumped slightly in her chair. "Wow."

"Yeah," Meredith muttered, placing a comforting hand on Lexie's forearm.

"Mom's parents both died when Molly and I were really little," Lexie said sadly. "We both always wanted a grandmother, though. You know, someone to take us shopping, spoil us with presents, and invite us over for sleepovers and homemade cookies. I just can't believe that all of these years, we actually did have a grandmother, but Dad never bothered to tell us about her. Grandma Vivian was alive all that time and I didn't even know it."

"Alright, first of all, you've got to stop calling her Grandma Vivian," Meredith said.

"Why?" Lexie asked. "That's what Dad always called her when he talked about her with us."

"That's all fine," Meredith said. "But to Vivi, 'grandma' was a dirty word. She said it made her feel ancient and outdated. She insisted on only ever being 'Vivi' to me, never 'grandma'. She would have had my head if I ever tried to call her that."

"Alright, Vivi it is," Lexie said.

"And second, please don't do that thing," Meredith said.

"What thing?" Lexie asked.

"That thing you did with me before we met," Meredith said. "You know, where you idealize someone beyond what they actually are. Don't make Vivi into this super-grandma who fits into your perfect vision of the life that could have been. Because honestly, just like I didn't live up to all that hype, Vivi wouldn't have either."

"What do you mean?" Lexie asked.

"Look, don't get me wrong, Vivi was a great person, and I loved her probably more than anyone else in my life when I was younger," Meredith said. "Vivi was loads of fun; a real life-of-the-party type, if you want. And she was full of snappy advice and interesting things to do. She just wasn't exactly what you would call ideal grandmother material. No, Vivi was more likely to buy you a shot of tequila than a Barbie doll, and the only thing her oven was ever used for was storing the bottles that didn't fit in her liquor cabinet."

"Tequila?" Lexie asked skeptically.

"Well, I didn't just develop a taste for it all on my own," Meredith said.

"But from our grandmother?" Lexie asked incredulously.

"Like I said, not exactly ideal grandmother material," Meredith said. "Vivi was a raging alcoholic, Lexie. And I do mean absolutely raging. I think just about the only time the woman bothered to sober up was when she made the drive up to see me. The first time I had a drink, it was Vivi who gave it to me. The first time I got fall-down drunk, it was with Vivi."

"Did she live in Boston?" Lexie asked.

"North Carolina, actually," Meredith said. "She moved there not too long after Mom and I moved to Boston. Before that, I think she lived in Seattle. I seem to recall that she was at our house quite a bit when Mom and Thatcher were still married."

"So how often did you see her?" Lexie curiously. "I mean, did Ellis send you down on the weekends or something?"

"Oh Lord, no," Meredith said, a slight smile playing on her lips. "My mother absolutely despised Vivi, and the feeling was definitely mutual. My mother never would have allowed me to see Vivi, either at our house or hers. As it was, she didn't figure out that I was seeing Vivi until I was almost fifteen, so even though she completed flipped out on me, there wasn't much she could do to stop me, seeing as I was just entering my rebellious teenager phase."

"How did you manage to keep it a secret?" Lexie asked.

"My mother was a complete workaholic," Meredith said. "She worked an intern's hours as an attending. In her mind, every extra second she got in the OR gave her a bigger edge on her competition. It's how she became a great surgeon. It didn't exactly make her a great mother, though. I went through a whole series of nannies until I turned eleven and Mom decided they were a waste of money and I could take care of myself. Starting when I was six, Vivi would drive up to Boston every few months. She'd slip the nanny a few hundred bucks to keep her mouth shut and disappear for the day. Then we'd head out and spend the day together. She always had me home and in bed long before my mother ever got off of work. I loved it, having that little secret, those little breaks to look forward to."

"Do you…do you think she knew about Molly and I?" Lexie asked. "Did she even know I existed?"

"We didn't talk about Mom or Thatcher very often," Meredith admitted. "I asked her about him once, when I was maybe fifteen or so, but that was it. I knew she was Thatcher's mother and I knew she wasn't happy with what happened between him and my mother, but that was generally as far into it as we got. Whatever she knew about Thatcher's life, she didn't share it with me."

"What did she tell you when you asked about him?" Lexie asked.

"She told me I shouldn't waste my time worrying about him," Meredith said. "She said he was…well, she said he was a disgrace to the family name, that he had let her down and abandoned everything she'd ever taught him. She told me that as far as she was concerned, he was dead to her."

"I guess they must have had a falling out or something," Lexie surmised. "I'd like to think that she didn't know, though. Maybe it's selfish, to want to think that she was in the dark rather than that she knew and just didn't care enough to try to see us."

"It's not selfish," Meredith said. "Trust me, I know it doesn't feel great to think that someone you wanted to care for you just abandoned you."

"Oh Meredith, I didn't mean…" Lexie began.

"It's okay," Meredith assured her. "And for what it's worth, I don't think Vivi knew."

"You don't?" Lexie asked hopefully.

"I don't," Meredith said. "Not too long after we talked about Thatcher, I asked her why she spent so much time with me if she hated my parents so much. She just smiled and told me that I was still innocent and that it wasn't my fault my parents were both horrible. She said that a child should never be punished for the sins of its parents and that if she had had to, she would have taken Ellis to court just to get permission to see me. She said that Thatcher was really all she had in the world, and so since I was his daughter, once she'd cut him out, I was all she had left."

"So you don't think Dad could have stopped her from seeing us?" Lexie asked.

"Oh, trust me on this one, what Vivi wanted, Vivi got. If she could find a way to see me behind Ellis Grey's back, she definitely would have been able to find a way to see you and Molly no matter what Thatcher did," Meredith assured her.

* * *

"Seriously, Alex, you're a doctor," Izzie said. "How do you not know how to change a diaper?"

"Diaper changing was not part of the curriculum in medical school, thank you very much," Alex retorted. "What makes you such an expert on it, anyway?"

"Lots of kids in the trailer park," Izzie shrugged. "If you weren't at school or working, you watched your neighbor's kid so she could go to class or to work. It's just what we all did. Now get over here so I can teach you how to change a diaper."

"I think I'll pass," Alex insisted. "I'm pretty sure I can live the rest of my life just fine without this lesson."

"Don't count on it," Izzie said. "At the rate you've moved through the nurses, I'm surprised you don't already have an illegitimate kid out there somewhere."

"I know I should be hurt by your implications, but somehow, I'm not," Alex laughed. "And you're still not getting me to change that diaper, either."

"Oh really?" Izzie asked, arching an eyebrow in Alex's direction. "And just what would Lexie say if I returned her niece with a soiled diaper and told her that you refused to change the diaper?"

"She'd probably ask why you couldn't just change the diaper yourself," Alex replied.

"I think you would do well to remember who provides the food around this house, buddy," Izzie retorted. "And if you want to eat my food again, I suggest you get over here and learn to change a diaper."

"Blackmail is so not cool," Alex groaned as walked over to the changing mat Izzie has spread out on the bathroom floor.

"But it works every time," Izzie smiled. "Now, before you start, you want to get out a clean diaper and the baby wipes."

"Diaper, check, wipes, check," Alex ticked off as he pulled the items from Laura's diaper bag and set them next to the baby.

"Now, unsnap her onesie," Izzie instructed. "Pull it up so that it's completely out of the way of the diaper. You wouldn't want to get anything on it."

"Oh, heaven forbid," Alex mocked as he did what he was told. "What next, oh mighty diaper-changing-professor?"

"Keep that up and I might not help you at all," Izzie protested. "And then what would you tell Lexie, hmm? I don't think she'd like to hear that she can't leave her niece alone with her boyfriend for even an hour simply because he can't handle a little diaper."

"I…uh…yeah, um, boyfriend, right…" Alex stuttered. "Um…what next?"

"Get a wipe ready and unfasten the sides of the diaper," Izzie said. "Then pull the front down. Now, why the freak out? Aren't you her boyfriend?"

"I guess you could say that," Alex admitted as he fumbled to get Laura's legs in the correct position to remove the diaper. "It's just…our no-strings thing sure gained a lot of strings pretty quickly, that's all."

"Watch it, Alex, you're going to pull her leg out of joint," Izzie scolded, reaching over and taking over from Alex. "Like this, nice and gentle. She's a baby, not a rag doll. Now grab that wipe and clean her up before you put the fresh diaper on."

"Got it," Alex nodded.

"Now just put on the new diaper," Izzie said. "Be careful not to pull it too tight, though. You don't want to give her diaper rash or anything."

"Voila," Alex said proudly as he lifted Laura up, her fresh diaper in place.

"I guess old dogs can learn new tricks after all," Izzie laughed as she took Laura from Alex's arms. "Now, take that dirty diaper out to the outside trash can, Alex. I don't want it stinking up the whole house."

"How come I get all the dirty jobs?" Alex complained as he headed toward the back door.

"Because Laura likes me better than you," Izzie said. "Isn't that right, sweetie? Yes it is, you know it is."

"Must be because you two operate on such a similar intellectual wavelength," Alex said as he returned to the room.

"Very funny," Izzie said. "At least this time I'm not the one with the messy, complicated relationship."

"What I have with Lexie is not messy," Alex insisted. "It's not complicated, either. It's just…I don't know, it's just so…"

"Stringy?" Izzie suggested.

"That could be one word for it," Alex agreed. "It's just…I don't do relationships, Iz. You know that as well as anyone. It's not that I don't care about her, because I do. I care about her a lot. But I do no-strings for a reason. My track record isn't exactly stellar when it comes to relationships."

"No argument there," Izzie said.

"I just wonder if maybe I shouldn't even be trying," Alex said. "Maybe I'm just making things worse for her by letting there be strings, if in the long run I'm only going to screw things up again."

"Well, that's certainly a negative outlook," Izzie remarked.

"My history with women pretty much speaks for itself," Alex said. "I'm sure it comes as no surprise that you weren't the first girl I cared about that I managed to hurt that way. That's why I stick to no-strings, so that doesn't happen again."

"Okay, I'm going to let you in on a little secret," Izzie said. "When a woman has sex, there are _always_ going to be strings involved, no matter how often she assures you there won't be. So if you're trying to keep people from getting hurt, your no-strings theory sucks. And honestly, what's the point? Yeah, there's a chance you could screw up again, but Alex, we're not talking about forces beyond your control. It's not like you don't know the reason that you've managed to leave a trail of broken-hearted women in your wake."

"In my wake?" Alex asked skeptically. "What am I, a hurricane?"

"You know, I don't have to offer you advice," Izzie pointed out. "So if you want it, I suggest you stop mocking my word choices and listen."

"Sorry," Alex mumbled.

"Anyway, where was I?" Izzie asked. "Right, control. Look, I get that sometimes things happen, but honestly, my only advice to you is to grow a pair and take some responsibility for your actions. No one forced you to cheat in the past, Alex, and no one is going to force you to cheat in the future. This is completely within your control if you want it to be. I do think that you could be happy with Lexie if you wanted to be. Self-control is not something that is beyond your reach, Alex, especially if you're with someone who makes you really happy."

"You really think so?" Alex asked hopefully.

"Hey, I'll tell you what," Izzie offered. "If you feel your resolve slipping, you come find me. We'll get you a chastity belt and give Lexie the only key."


	11. Making the Call

**A/N:** I know, this chapter is a bit shorter than the others - looking at the overall plan for the story, though, this is what seemed to fit here, and the others items I had intended to include seemed to mesh better in the later chapters, which left this one a little bit light. I hope you all enjoy it anyway!

* * *

"I'm thinking that maybe I should call Dad," Lexie said as she, Meredith and Laura sat in Molly's room the next morning.

"If you want to, go ahead," Meredith said. "We probably shouldn't have waited this long, really."

"I suppose not," Lexie agreed. "I just don't know what to say to him, you know? I haven't spoken to him since the day I moved out. Now all of a sudden I've got to call and tell him about all of this. Not exactly how I figured the first contact would go."

"Do you want me to do it?" Meredith asked.

"No, no, I can't ask you to do that," Lexie said. "I'll do it. I just need a little time to figure out what to say. What did you say the first time you saw him again?"

"I don't really remember," Meredith said. "I think I said 'hi,' then he said 'Meredith?' I nodded and then he asked if I needed anything. I said no and took off."

"Well, that sounds like it went well," Lexie said sarcastically.

"Showing up out of the blue wasn't exactly the smartest thing I ever did," Meredith said. "I was having a crappy day."

"So you figured you'd make it crappier by looking up your long-lost father?" Lexie asked.

"I had this patient who was going to have a surgery that he probably wasn't going to survive," Meredith said. "He spent his last hours making videos telling everyone how he really felt about them."

"That's so sweet," Lexie commented. "Something to remember him by."

"Except that they were all so bitter and mean," Meredith said. "He had all these horrible things to say to people; things that had just been building for years and years inside of him. At that point, everything in my life was going badly, and I didn't want to end up on my deathbed sending angry recordings to everyone who'd ever hurt me. So I looked Thatcher up in the phone book and drove to his house."

"That's it?" Lexie asked. "You just showed up and rang the doorbell?"

"In hindsight, it might have been a little less awkward if I had called first," Meredith admitted. "But then again, if I'd, I don't know, set up an appointment or something, I probably would have chickened out long before I made it to the face to face part."

"So, I guess I should just start with 'hi,' then?" Lexie asked, obviously delaying the phone call as long as possible.

"It would probably be a good start," Meredith agreed. "I suppose you could always just send him a telegram or something."

"Do people even send telegrams anymore?" Lexie asked.

"I have no idea," Meredith admitted. "How about a text message?"

"I think I'd better just make the phone call," Lexie said, grabbing her cell phone out of her purse. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Good luck," Meredith said as Lexie nodded and walked out of the room.

* * *

"How's she doing today?" Derek asked as he walked into the room a few minutes later.

"No change," Meredith replied quietly, shifting Laura nervously in her lap. "There should be something by now, right?"

"It's only been about thirty-six hours," Derek said. "Her EEG is still looking strong, so I'd wait at least another day before starting to really worry. Her body needs time to heal itself before she wakes up."

"Okay," Meredith said softly.

"Where's Lexie?" Derek asked.

"Calling Thatcher," Meredith replied.

"Is that such a good idea?" Derek asked in concern. "Things didn't exactly go well the last time you saw him."

"I know," Meredith sighed. "But he's their father, Derek. He may be a mean, bitter drunk, but Molly is his daughter. He deserves to at least know that she's here."

"Okay," Derek nodded. "If he shows up and you want him gone, just page me, alright? I'll kick him out for you."

"Sure," Meredith laughed. "We'll be fine, Derek."

"I know," Derek said. "But I'm here if you need me. I just want you to know that."

"Derek…" Meredith sighed.

"I'm not asking for anything," Derek said. "No pressure, no expectations, I'm just saying, I'm here if you need me. That's all."

"Okay," Meredith said. "Thank you."

* * *

"He wants to come see her," Lexie sighed as she sat back down next to Meredith. "He's pissed that I didn't call him sooner."

"Let him be," Meredith said. "I don't want to sound cruel, but he's the one who let himself get to the point where Molly had to cut him out. If he wants to blame someone for not being told sooner, he'd better take a good hard look at himself."

"He just has this way of making me feel guilty," Lexie said. "Making me feel like I'm constantly letting him down. Like I've somehow failed to live up to what he wanted me to be. That probably doesn't make much sense to you, I guess."

"Lexie, my mother had one lucid day before she died, and she used it to tell me that I was a complete disappointment to her," Meredith said.

"Maybe your mother and my father weren't such a bad pair after all," Lexie said. "Why did they split up?"

"No one ever told you?" Meredith asked.

"All my mother would say was that Ellis left him," Lexie said.

"My mother had an affair with the chief," Meredith said.

"Wait, Chief Webber and your mom?" Lexie gasped. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope," Meredith said. "They had an agreement, that she would leave Thatcher and he would leave his wife, but after she'd left Thatcher, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. The day he told her…that night was the only time I ever really saw my mother cry."

"Almost makes me feel sorry for Ellis," Lexie said.

"She didn't have the easiest life," Meredith agreed. "She did her best with me, but I don't think she had much to give. For being such a strong, independent woman, I don't know that she knew how to be happy on her own. She buried herself in her work, but it never seemed to fill the void."

"That is so sad," Lexie said.

"I'm sort of terrified the same thing's happening to me," Meredith admitted.

"What?" Lexie asked in shock. "Don't be ridiculous, Meredith. You are nothing like your mother."

"I miss being with Derek," Meredith said. "I don't know how to move past that, how to be happy on my own. I've basically buried myself in this clinical trial."

"But you're doing things your mother never would have," Lexie said. "I didn't know Ellis, but from what I've heard, she didn't think there was anything wrong with the way she was living. Even if you were going down that same path, you saw that and you're making the effort to change it. You're going to therapy; you're spending time with Molly and I. When did Ellis ever make an effort like that?"

"Never," Meredith admitted.

"Exactly," Lexie said. "Trust me, Meredith, you are so much better than your mother. You and Derek, you guys had something really powerful. I'd be worried if you didn't miss that. You still love him."

"I don't want to," Meredith said. "I want to let him go. I want to move forward."

"And this is why you have a therapist," Lexie said. "To help you move forward."

"I guess you're right," Meredith said.

"Of course I am," Lexie said. "I'm always right."

* * *

"You look like crap, Derek," Addison said as she walked up behind him in the hallway later that morning.

"You're too kind," Derek said. "You try functioning on two hours of sleep and five really annoying phone calls from my family and see how great you look."

"Worrying about Molly?" Addison asked. "Or were you worrying more about her sister?"

"Both," Derek admitted. "If she's not awake by the end of the day, the chances of her waking up at all drop significantly. Her EEG output is still what I would classify is good, but it hasn't changed at all from yesterday, which means she's not improving."

"Did you tell Meredith that?" Addison asked.

"Of course not," Derek said. "She can look at the EEG results herself and figure it out, but I told her what I'd tell any patient's family: that we shouldn't start panicking until after today, that the EEG still looks good and that I'm cautiously optimistic about her chances. I don't want her to worry unnecessarily."

"Because you're doing enough worrying for the two of you," Addison said.

"Exactly," Derek agreed.

"And what's with the five annoying phone calls from the family?" Addison asked.

"I'm a little hurt that you have to ask that question," Derek said.

"Why?" Addison asked in confusion.

"What's tomorrow?" Derek asked.

Addison paused for a moment, confusion clouding her features until it suddenly clicked in her mind. "Oh my God," she exclaimed. "I cannot believe that it slipped my mind, Derek! And this is a big one, too…you're going to be 40 this year."

"Don't remind me," Derek groaned. "Mom wants me to come home so that she can throw me a huge party."

"Well, that could be fun," Addison said. "You might want to at least tell her that you're coming, even if you aren't, just so she and your sisters don't all show up here tomorrow morning."

"You don't think they'd really do that, do you?" Derek asked.

"If we were talking about my family, no, they wouldn't," Addison said. "My family believes in calling first. But this is your family, Derek. Your mother sets extra places at the dinner table every night in case people just show up. Your mother doesn't believe in calling first, she just shows up and expects to be welcomed."

"You're right," Derek sighed. "At least they can't all expect to stay with me this time."

"Although I would pay good money to see any one of your sisters staying in that trailer," Addison laughed.

"Hey, don't insult the trailer," Derek protested. "I love that trailer."

"I know you do," Addison said, smiling indulgently. "And it suits you, it really does…as long as you don't try to host anyone else in that thing."

"I'll make sure they all get rooms right next to yours at the Archfield," Derek said.

"Put them on Mark's floor and I promise to take them shopping all afternoon," Addison offered.

"I don't know how Mark would feel about that one," Derek laughed.

Addison opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sudden beeping of Derek's pager. The terrified look on Derek's face as he read the message sent chills down Addison's spine.

"What is it?" she asked.

"911," Derek said. "It's Molly's room."

"Well what are you doing just standing there?" Addison asked, grabbing Derek by the arm and snapping him out of the numb state his body had fallen into. "Let's go!"


	12. Shocks and Surprises

**A/N:** You want to know how crazy things have been around here? I haven't even had time to watch any of this season's Grey's episodes yet! I'm trying to work in some writing time to destress, but I can't make any promises on how often updates will be. I'm kind of looking forward to what's to come in the next few chapters, though, and when I get really excited about something, that usually leads to lots of fast writing - so keep you fingers crossed. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter - don't forget to review and let me know what you think!

* * *

Derek's heart dropped as he and Addison rushed into Molly's room and took in the chaos ensuing before them. Meredith and Lexie were standing in the corner, Meredith's arms wrapped under Lexie's elbows, holding her up as she clutched Laura desperately to her chest, both sisters shaking in fear. Meanwhile, a flurry of nurses were assisting George as he strapped protective pads to Molly's chest and prepared the defibrillator paddles while a flat line beeped ominously across the cardiac monitor.

"Clear!" George shouted, pressing the paddles to Molly's chest and pulling them away as her body convulsed from the shock.

"Still nothing, Dr. O'Malley," a nurse informed him.

"Charge to 300, then," George instructed.

"Charging to 300," another nurse said.

"Clear!" George called out again, pressing the paddles once again to Molly's chest.

"Sinus rhythm is back," a nurse said, the relief evident in her voice as everyone watched the line on the cardiac monitor begin to rise and fall steadily once again. "We've got her back, Doctor."

"What happened?" Derek asked, moving into the room as the nurses cleared out.

"She had a seizure," Meredith said from her spot against the wall. "I don't know what happened…one minute she was seizing, the next she was in v-fib. Maybe the stress of the seizure was too much for her heart?"

"That's not unheard of," Addison agreed.

"Alright, Dr. O'Malley, I want you to make sure she's stable and take her straight up to CT," Derek instructed.

"Yes, Dr. Shepherd," George said, motioning for a nurse to come assist him as he maneuvered Molly's bed out of the room.

"She's got another bleed, doesn't she?" Lexie asked tearfully.

"I really can't say right now," Derek said. "It's possible, but I'd like to get a look at the CT before I say too much. If it is a bleed, chances are it's still fairly small since her scans were clear yesterday morning."

"Can she handle another surgery?" Meredith asked. "It hasn't been that long since the first one, and that one nearly killed her."

"Let's just take this one step at a time, alright?" Derek said calmly. "We don't know anything yet. Right now, my first concern is figuring out what caused that seizure and the resulting v-fib. Once we get a handle on that, then we'll see what comes next. One step at a time, okay?"

"Okay," Meredith said, gently leading Lexie back to the chairs they had abandoned in the chaos of the code blue.

"I'm going to head up to CT and see what's going on," Derek said to Addison on his way out of the room.

"You're concerned," Addison said, reading him perfectly.

"Yeah, I am," Derek sighed. "Can you stay with them? They probably shouldn't be alone right now. Lexie might not be thinking it through, but Meredith knows enough to know that this isn't good."

"Sure, I'll stay," Addison said.

* * *

"She's just going in now, Derek," Dr. Bailey said, answering Derek's unspoken question as he walked into the radiology office adjacent to the CT room.

"I just double-checked yesterday's scans," Derek said, taking a seat in front of the computer monitor where Molly's scans would be displayed as they were taken.

"Thinking you missed something?" Bailey asked.

"I thought so," Derek said. "At least that would have explained the seizure. But they were absolutely clean. I didn't miss anything. These scans had better show a bleed or a clot…or something."

"You want her to have a second hematoma?" George asked in surprise as he walked into the room.

"No, I don't _want_ her to have another bleed," Derek said. "But right now, I can only think of a few things that would cause a seizure like the one she just had, and a small hematoma is a hell of a lot better than the alternative."

"I hate to ask…" George said nervously.

"The other most likely explanation is the Dr. Shepherd inadvertently damaged a portion of Molly's brain while he was removing the initial hematoma," Dr. Bailey said quietly. "It's always a risk with brain surgery, you know that, O'Malley. Sometimes you can do everything right, but it happens anyway."

"Another bleed is something I can fix," Derek said. "But if I nicked something…well, that's something that can't be fixed."

* * *

"Where is she?"

Meredith sighed as she looked up from feeding Laura to see Thatcher standing in the doorway. Although it was only eleven in the morning, she could tell from his haggard appearance that he'd either been drinking already or was, at the very least, still slightly inebriated from whatever binge he'd been on the previous night.

"Dad, why don't you sit down?" Lexie suggested, standing up and moving toward him, taking his arm to lead him to a chair.

"Don't touch me," Thatcher snapped, pulling his arm away. "I want to know where my daughter is! Did you kill her too, Meredith? Took my wife, now you had to take my daughter too?"

"Mr. Grey, I suggest you calm down right now," Addison said, standing directly in front of Thatcher, her three-inch stilettos allowing her to look slightly down at him. "I will not have you speaking that way to a member of this staff. Molly has been taken for some tests; she'll be back in the room soon."

"Give me the baby," Thatcher said, moving toward where Meredith was seated. Instinctively, Meredith moved her arms to pull Laura close to her chest and shield her from Thatcher – a move that did not go unnoticed by her father. "You think you can keep her away from me? She's my family, not yours, damn it! You couldn't take care of a baby…you're just like your mother, Meredith, you'd poison the child. Now give her to me!"

"Dad, stop it!" Lexie exclaimed, grabbing his upper arm again. "I didn't call you so you could come here and make a scene…Molly needs you, but not like this, Dad. Maybe I shouldn't have even called you."

_Crack!_

Lexie jumped back in shock as Thatcher's hand connected with her cheek.

"Alright, that is enough, Mr. Grey," Addison said, stepping and steering Thatcher toward the door. "And don't you even think of raising a hand to me, because unlike your daughters, I will kick your ass without giving a second thought. Ever seen what a stiletto can do to a man's toes?"

"How dare she call me unfit!" Thatcher ranted as Addison instructed a nurse to call security. "That baby would be better off with me than either of them!"

"Escort Mr. Grey off the premises," Addison said to the security guards as they entered the room. "And please, don't let him back inside this hospital. This is the second time he's assaulted hospital personnel."

"Yes, Dr. Montgomery," the guard said as he and his partner quickly took Thatcher out of the room.

"Are you alright?" Addison asked, turning back to face Lexie.

Lexie just nodded, staring numbly at the door Thatcher had just been escorted out of, her hand not moving from its place on her cheek.

Meredith quickly stood up, Laura still in her arms. "Addison, maybe you could watch Laura for a bit?" Meredith asked. "It's not raining; maybe some fresh air would be good for her."

"Of course," Addison nodded, taking the baby out of Meredith's arms, grabbing her diaper bag as she headed out of the room.

Meredith put a hand on Lexie's shoulder, not entirely sure how she was expected to comfort her sister in that particular moment. When Thatcher had hit her, all she had wanted to do was run away, get as far away as possible.

"He didn't used to be like that," Lexie said, her voice shaking slightly despite the fact that she wasn't crying.

"I know," Meredith said softly.

"He was a good father," Lexie continued. "He was, he really was. He didn't drink, not ever…not even a sip of champagne at Molly's wedding. He used to say that he was allergic to alcohol."

Meredith nodded, still holding her hand on Lexie's shoulder, unsure if she should say anything.

"Allergic," Lexie scoffed. "He must have known…he must have already been an alcoholic even then. I just don't get it…if he knew what would happen, why did he go back? How could he start again if he knew that this is the type of person he would end up becoming?"

"I don't know," Meredith sighed. "He was in pain. I guess maybe he thought that without your mother, it wasn't worth dealing with the pain. Maybe he thought he couldn't deal with it?"

"That man, the one who was here today," Lexie said. "That man is not my father, Meredith. That's not my dad."

"I know," Meredith said.

Lexie sighed as she turned to face Meredith. "If he never stops, if he keeps going like this, then I didn't just lose my mom when she died, I lost my dad too," Lexie said, the tears streaming down her cheeks now. "How could he do that? How could he take himself out of our lives like that?"

"I don't know," Meredith said, shaking her head as she pulled Lexie into her arms and hugged her while she cried. "I don't know, Lex."

* * *

"There it is," Derek said, pointing to a spot on the scan of Molly's brain. "Damn it, how did that not show up on her scan yesterday? That's one hell of a clot to have just popped up overnight."

"How do you want to proceed?" Bailey asked.

"It's going to be extremely difficult to remove that," Derek sighed. "I don't think we have any other options, though. If we leave it alone, she'll continue to have seizures, and I don't know how many more of those her heart can handle."

"Not many," George said. "I had a hard enough time bringing her back from the last one."

"Right," Derek nodded. "We have to go in and at least try to remove it. It's the only chance we can give her. Are you both still alright to scrub in?"

"Yes, sir," George said.

"Of course," Bailey agreed.

"Alright then," Derek said. "Dr. O'Malley, go book us an OR. We need to get in there before she seizes again, so tell the nurses I want to be cutting within the hour if it's possible."

"I'm on it," George said, hurrying out of the room.

"Dr. Bailey, go ahead and grab another intern to assist, then start prepping the pat…Molly," Derek said, his professional demeanor slipping at the last minute. As much as he tried, he just couldn't think of this as just another patient.

"Derek, I need to ask this...are _you_ still alright to perform this surgery?" Dr. Bailey asked. "I can call for another neurosurgeon if you need to remove yourself from the case."

"No, no, I'm fine," Derek insisted. "Let me know when she's prepped. I'm going to go talk to Meredith and Lexie."

* * *

"Derek, I need to talk to you," Mark said, hurrying to keep up with Derek as he walked down the hall toward the elevators.

"Not now, Mark," Derek said. "I've got to talk to Meredith and Lexie, then get ready to operate on Molly again."

"Again?" Mark asked. "Damn it, I thought her scans were clear?"

"Yesterday they were," Derek said. "Today, they're not. She's got a massive clot that came out of nowhere. It's going to be a nightmare trying to remove it without impairing brain function."

"Damn," Mark muttered as Derek pressed the button for the elevator. "I still need to talk to you, though. It's important."

"It'll have to wait," Derek insisted. "I'm serious, Mark, I need to concentrate on getting through this surgery. Whatever it is, we'll talk about it later. I can't be distracted right now."

Mark was about to speak again when the elevator doors dinged and opened. Derek looked up and paused in the middle of stepping forward, shocked by the five women staring back at him from inside the elevator.

"Mom?" Derek exclaimed in shock.

"I tried to warn you, man," Mark muttered quietly, so that only Derek could hear him.


	13. Visitors

**A/N: **I can't figure out why, but I'm not thrilled with the way this chapter came out. Still, it accomplishes everything I needed to get done in this chapter, so I'm going to go ahead and post it. I'm sort of testing the waters with the end of this chapter - as much as I love Mer/Der and I'm having so much fun writing their successful relationship in my other story, every time I come back to this story, I just don't find myself as thrilled with their relationship here as I think I should be. So, I guess I'm just giving myself another option, if that makes sense.

* * *

"Well, are you just going to stand there all day and stare?" Catherine Shepherd asked as Derek stood in the doorway of the elevator, unable to move. "Come here and give your mother a hug, Derek."

Derek obliged silently, embracing his mother as Mark stepped onto the elevator behind him.

"That's much better," Catherine smiled. "Now, I certainly hope that you don't have plans for tonight. Your sisters and I are going to take you out to an early dinner, then you can bring us out to your land, show us this infamous trailer we've heard so much about."

"Actually, I…" Derek began.

"And if you don't already have it free, you should see about getting tomorrow off," Catherine continued. "No one should have to work on their birthday, dear. Your sisters and I are here to make sure that you actually celebrate this year. Forty is a big one, you know."

"Mom, I…" Derek tried to get a word in.

"Oh, there's no need to thank us," Catherine assured him. "We're just looking out for you, you know that. Now, you should get changed so that we can get out of this hospital and start celebrating."

"Mom, I can't leave," Derek said.

"Of course you can," Nancy piped up. "Really, Derek, this place isn't going to fall apart if you leave for a day to spend a little time with your family. We flew all the way out here just for you; the least you could do is take a day off to entertain us."

"I didn't ask you to come," Derek argued. "And maybe you can just pick up and leave your patients without notice, but mine need me here. You know, if you all had called before coming I might have been able to arrange for some time off. But that would just be too much of a normal thing to do, right?"

"The sarcasm is highly unnecessary," Kathleen said. "Really, what's the big deal with taking a few hours away from the hospital, Derek? This work-centered life that you're living, it really isn't healthy. Mark agreed to take time off to spend with us. I'm sure you could do the same."

"He did, did he?" Derek asked, glaring at Mark, who shot back an apologetic stare. "Well, Mark's patients aren't going to die if their boob jobs get pushed back a day. My patients don't have the luxury of time, and I don't have the time to stand in this elevator arguing with you about it."

At that moment, the elevator doors opened on the surgical floor. With his family still hot on his heels, Derek quickly moved to step out of the elevator, nearly colliding with George in the process.

"Dr. Shepherd," George said, clearly a bit out of breath. "I was just coming to look for you. I booked us in OR 4 for Molly's surgery; Debbie says that they'll have it prepped and ready for us in forty-five minutes."

"Good," Derek nodded. "Thank you, Dr. O'Malley. Go find Dr. Bailey and let her know; then you can go assist whoever is prepping Molly. Be ready to scrub in when you're done there."

"Yes, sir," George said, sidestepping around Derek's family into the elevator, staring curiously at them as the elevator doors closed.

"See?" Derek asked, turning to face his family. "I have surgeries to attend to. Surgeries that can't wait while I go off gallivanting around the city with you all."

"You could have just said so," Nancy said indignantly. "There's no need for all this hostility, Derek. Is it an emergency surgery?"

"Yes, it is," Derek said. "Look, you all are just going to have to find something else to do tonight, because I have no idea how long I'm going to be. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to my patient's family and tell them that I have to take her in for another surgery."

With that, Derek turned and hurried off down the hall, leaving his mother and sisters to stare at his retreating form.

* * *

Addison hummed softly as she nestled Laura against her chest and walked slowly through the hospital corridors. Although she had, at least temporarily, given up her quest to become a mother, she had to admit that she still relished the feeling of caring for a child.

Turning a corner, she came to an abrupt halt as she eyed the five women standing with Mark at the end of the hall. Knowing that there was little chance of slipping away without being spotted, Addison braced herself for the onslaught of hugs and questions before continuing on down the hall.

"Oh my God, Addie!" Kathleen practically squealed as she saw her former sister-in-law heading their way. "Mark, why didn't you tell us Addie was still here? I thought you moved to L.A., sweetie!"

"I did," Addison said, quickly shifting Laura to her hip so that Kathleen wouldn't crush her with her hug. "I'm just back for a few days to handle a case. I'll be heading back to L.A. any day now."

"Well, you look wonderful, dear," Catherine said, stepping forward to hug Addison. "Now, why on earth did no one tell me that you'd had a baby? This is fabulous, dear, and that child is absolutely gorgeous."

"Oh, no, she's…" Addison began to protest.

"She really is cute, Addie," Amanda piped up. "She doesn't look a whole lot like you, though. She must take after her father's side."

"Is he here too?" Nancy asked eagerly. "I'd love to meet the man who finally did right by you."

"Guys, calm down," Addison insisted. "She's not my baby; I'm just watching her for a friend for a little while."

"Oh," Catherine said, clearly disappointed. "Well, I suppose that's a more reasonable explanation, anyway. Now, we're all headed out for a big dinner tonight to celebrate our arrival. You must join us, Addison, Derek and Mark will both be coming along."

"Does Derek even know you're here?" Addison asked.

"Of course he does," Catherine said. "He's off talking to a patient's family right now."

"Hey, do you know if he's still seeing that slutty intern?" Nancy asked. "You know, the one he was so gaga over the last time I was here."

"Oh, um, well…" Addison muttered, noticing Mark taking this opportunity to silently slip off around the corner. "I don't work here anymore, so I really wouldn't know. I haven't kept in touch much with anyone up here."

"What about you, Mark?" Kathleen asked, turning around to find Mark gone. "Hey, where'd Mark go?"

"He must have been paged away," Addison suggested.

"I'm sure," Nancy said, rolling her eyes. "You know what we need right now is a nurse. Nurses know everything in a hospital."

* * *

"Hey," Derek said softly as he walked into Molly's room to find Meredith and Lexie sitting numbly by the empty bed, tearstains evident on their cheeks.

"Where's Molly?" Lexie asked anxiously. "Is she alright?"

"The CT showed a clot in her brain," Derek said. "That's probably what caused the seizure earlier. Given her reaction to the first seizure, I want to go in and remove the clot before it causes another."

"How soon?" Meredith asked.

"George is prepping her for surgery now," Derek said. "We're booked for an OR as soon as he's finished."

"How big is the clot?" Meredith asked.

"Big enough," Derek said vaguely, not wanting to alarm either sister with too much detail.

"How long do you think you'll be in surgery?" Lexie asked.

"It's hard to tell without being able to see how entrenched the clot is," Derek admitted. "I'd say at least three or four hours, possibly more if there are any obstructions."

"We should head up to the surgical waiting room," Meredith decided. "It'll be easier for George to come give us updates there."

"You could also wait in one of the conference rooms," Derek suggested. "They're still close to the OR, but they might give you some more privacy than the waiting room."

"Okay," Meredith nodded. "Um, I guess we should head up there, then."

"Alright," Derek nodded. "Just let one of the nurses know which room you'll be in so that George knows where to find you with updates."

* * *

"Nancy, really, maybe you guys should just let Derek tell you about his personal life," Addison said as she hurried along behind the women.

"What's he got to hide?" Amanda asked curiously. "That one right there looks gossipy. Ask her, Nance."

"You," Nancy called out as she walked up to the nurses' station with her mother and sisters. "Come here."

"Are you talking to me?" Rose asked, arching an eyebrow in surprise at being ordered about by anyone other than Seattle Grace's cocky surgeons.

"Yes, you," Nancy said. "Get over here."

"I don't work for you," Rose said. "If you're here to see a patient, I'd be happy to direct you to the appropriate room. If not, I've got work to do."

"I just have a few questions I was hoping you could help me with," Nancy said. "You know, just clear up a bit of gossip."

"I may be a nurse, but that doesn't mean I like gossip," Rose said. "As I just told you, unless you're here to see a patient, I can't help you and I'd appreciate it if you'd let me get back to work."

"Excuse me, Rose?"

Everyone in the group looked over to see Meredith standing on the other side of the nurses' station.

"Yes, Dr. Grey?" Rose asked, turning her back to Derek's mother and sisters.

"Um, well," Meredith stuttered a bit, having caught sight of Nancy in the group behind Rose. "Someone is supposed to come update Lexie and I on Molly's surgery in a little while. Could you just leave a note or something here so that they know that we'll be in conference room 3?"

"Of course," Rose said. "And Dr. Grey? I don't think I've had a chance to say it yet, but I'm really sorry about…well, about everything, really."

Meredith smiled weakly, understanding exactly what Rose was talking about. "Thanks, Rose. I appreciate it."

"Just let me know if you need anything," Rose said, nervously twisting her thumbs.

"I will," Meredith nodded, feeling about as awkward as she thought Rose looked. Noticing Addison standing in the back of the group with Laura, she turned her attention to her niece.

"Thanks for watching Laura, Addison," Meredith said as she walked over and took the baby out of Addison's arms. "I hope she wasn't any trouble for you."

"She was a perfect angel," Addison assured her. "Are they taking Molly back into surgery?"

"Yeah," Meredith said sadly. "Derek said the CT showed a clot, which is probably what caused the seizure. It might also explain why she never woke up."

"How's Lexie?" Addison asked.

"Still pretty shaken up," Meredith sighed. "She's had a lot to take in; it's going to take a while for her to adjust to everything."

"And you?" Addison asked. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm used to it," Meredith shrugged. "I've never thought of Thatcher as a good guy, so I'm used to him letting me down. And as for the rest of it…well, I guess it wouldn't be my life if something weren't going wrong, right? Like I said, I'm used to it."

* * *

"Excuse me, Dr. Grey?"

Meredith looked up to find Rose hovering in the doorway of the conference room. It had only been thirty minutes since George had stopped in to let them know that Molly's surgery was progressing as well as could be expected, so she wasn't expecting any news for another hour or two. Quickly glancing over her shoulder to see Lexie sleeping in the corner, curled up against Alex's shoulder with Laura in a playpen by their side, Meredith stood up and stepped outside the room to avoid disturbing them.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Rose said as Meredith softly shut the door behind her. "There's a man here to see you."

"A man?" Meredith asked in confusion.

"I think he's from the army, so maybe he wants to talk about your brother-in-law?" Rose offered.

"Right," Meredith nodded. "Where is he?"

"He's waiting at the nurses' station," Rose said.

"Thanks," Meredith said, pausing for a moment. "Um, and Rose, about what you said earlier…I'm sorry too."

"You didn't do anything," Rose insisted. "He just loves you. I can't blame you for that. I mean, I think I knew when I started…there's no way to compete against the legend that is Derek and Meredith."

"There's no legend," Meredith said. "And even if there were, well, legends are just that…they're dreams and stories, not reality. Sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes, even love isn't enough."

"I can understand that," Rose nodded, gently fingering the engagement ring around her neck.

"Um, so you said this guy is at the nurses' station?" Meredith asked, breaking the awkward silence threatening to descend upon the two women.

* * *

"Ooh, check out the hot soldier," Amanda Shepherd laughed as she wandered down the hall with Nancy and Kathleen.

"Mandy, now is not the time to be drooling over men," Kathleen said. "We have a major situation here."

"I still don't understand what the problem is," Amanda said.

"The problem is that that baby Addison was holding clearly belonged to that Meredith girl," Nancy said.

"And you're sure that that girl is Derek's intern?" Kathleen asked her sister.

"Of course I'm sure," Nancy insisted. "So, Mandy, do you see why we have a problem here?"

"No," Amanda said. "So Derek's dating a girl who has a kid. So what? I dated a guy with a kid once and you all didn't freak out about it."

"You are a bit dense, you know that, Amanda?" Kathleen declared. "That child is only a few months old."

"And how is that important?" Amanda asked.

"You've got to be kidding me," Nancy sighed in exasperation. "Let me spell it out for you, dear: that child has to be Derek's."

"Now that _really _doesn't make any sense," Amanda insisted, shaking her head in confusion.

"Okay, what part are you having difficulty with?" Kathleen asked.

"Well, for one thing, Derek may have been a bit distant lately, but don't you think he would have at least picked up the phone and called if he'd had a child?" Amanda asked.

"Maybe he's not sure if it's his," Nancy suggested. "I mean, the girl did have an affair with a married man. Her moral judgment is probably questionable at best. Who's to say he's the only man she was sleeping with?"

"Alright, even if I believe that Derek would be involved with someone like that – which I don't buy even for a second – but for the sake of this argument, let's say I do," Amanda said. "The child is what, four months old? Five tops? Right?"

"Right," Kathleen said.

"So seven months ago, you were here in Seattle, Nancy," Amanda said. "You met that girl. Don't you think you, with your fancy medical degree and OB license, would have noticed that she was at least six months pregnant?"

"Well, she was wearing a coat the first time I saw her," Nancy said. "And then she had on a lab coat the second time. That could have hidden it."

"Maybe if she were big to start with," Amanda said. "But that girl is tiny, Nancy. Coat or no coat, you would have noticed that she was pregnant. I don't think the baby's hers."

"She's probably right, Nance," Kathleen sighed. "You wouldn't have missed something like that."

"Fine," Nancy conceded. "But one of you has to tell Mom that Derek hasn't finally given her a grandchild."

* * *

"Excuse me," Meredith said as she walked up to the soldier. "Um, I was told that you were asking for me? Do I know you?"

"I don't think so, ma'am," he replied. "You're Molly Thompson's sister?"

"I am," Meredith said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sergeant Evans," the man said. "Your brother-in-law was in my brigade in Iraq. The other guys in our unit, they elected me to stop by, see if Molly needed anything. They're all real anxious to do something to help; we're not used to losing a man like this, not at home."

"I appreciate the thought, Sergeant," Meredith said. "Right now, there's not a lot that we can do, unfortunately. Molly's actually in surgery again right now, so we're just waiting for news."

"Well, I've got some time, if you want some company," Sgt. Evans offered.

"That's very nice of you, Sergeant, but I'm sure you've got more important things to be doing," Meredith said.

"Maybe, but right now, I can't think of anything more important," Sgt. Evans said, his deep blue eyes locking with Meredith's.

"Alright," Meredith nodded. "You can stay, Sergeant."

"Jason," he said, holding out his hand to her.

"Meredith," she replied, flashing a weak smile as she shook his hand. "I'd suggest that we go back to the conference room, but my sister's asleep in there. She hasn't been doing much of that lately, so I don't really want to disturb her."

"Wherever you need to be is fine with me," Jason said.

"What I need right now," Meredith sighed for a moment. "Right now, I think what I need is coffee, Jason."

"I saw a coffee bar in the lobby," Jason offered. "Why don't you let me buy you a cup?"


End file.
